| 1 | %% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=fackmrde |
| 2 | %%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800 |
| 3 | %%% |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | %% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them. |
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| 7 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1307567246085980100 |
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| 9 | %% |
| 10 | [[quoteright:350:[[Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/poyno_on_the_waves.png]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:350:Running on pluck. Running on ''[[WalkOnWater waves]]'' and pluck.]] |
| 12 | %% |
| 13 | ->''"Aren't you scared?"''\ |
| 14 | ''"Oh, yeah. But while I'm mouthing off, I'm Feisty Heroine. Nothing bad happens to Feisty Heroine."'' |
| 15 | -->-- ''ComicBook/WisdomRudimentsOfWisdom'' # 6 |
| 16 | %% |
| 17 | %% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab. |
| 18 | %% |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Plucky means "brave and optimistic". |
| 21 | |
| 22 | You might be able to [[BreakTheCutie pile life complications]] onto this young woman/girl, to the point where the audience would forgive her if she just refused to go on. She might even have an episode or so where she ''does'' [[TenMinuteRetirement throw in the towel]], because human beings can only take so much of what the universe is handing out for her. But the Plucky Girl always [[HesBack comes back]]. That's the bravery part. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | The optimistic part is the rest of it. This character leans toward the sane version of ThePollyanna, blending the agency of the ActionGirl with the sweetness and [[SilkHidingSteel wise charm]] of the SpiritedYoungLady, while exhibiting a strong sense of optimism and an unassailable spirit that differentiates her from the grimness of a {{Determinator}}. You can beat her, but damned if she'll let you ''break'' her. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Male versions exist, but they tend to be closer to {{Determinator}} territory instead, [[DoubleStandard because men always have to be]] '''[[ManlyMan MANLY]]'''. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Female protagonists who are not straightforward {{Action Girl}}s (and a good many who are) will be Plucky Girls because of the AnthropicPrinciple -- if she's the protagonist and she gives up for good, the story gets cut short without resolution. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Not to be confused with PluckyOfficeGirl, though they may overlap once in a while. |
| 31 | ---- |
| 32 | !!Examples: |
| 33 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 36 | !!General: |
| 37 | * This trope is a staple of {{shoujo|Demographic}} manga, especially MagicalGirl shows. So the heroine is BookDumb, ultra naive, a ButtMonkey or is just starting with her mission and/or training in magic? The Powers of [[ThePowerOfLove Love]] and [[ThePowerOfFriendship Friendship]] will ultimately give her strength to keep on going! The UrExample, obviously, is Usagi from ''Franchise/SailorMoon.'' |
| 38 | * All the female leads created by Creator/MichiyoAkaishi are this in one way or another. [[Manga/TenyoriMoHoshiYoriMo Mio Mizumori]] tries to master her MakingASplash powers and protect herself from her StalkerWithACrush, [[Manga/HonooNoAlpenRose Jeudi]] will never stop looking for the truth behind her lost family and get away from her own StalkerWithACrush, [[Manga/PrivateActress Shiho Kobayakawa]] perseveres in her Private Actress work, [[Manga/AkatsukiNoAria Aria Kanbara]] will keep working in her dream to be a musician... |
| 39 | |
| 40 | !!By Title: |
| 41 | * Belldandy from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''. Behind that soft and caring exterior lies a will of iron and a girl who will stand up to the devil herself for the sake of those she loves. |
| 42 | * In ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', Mira and Misa are [[SiblingYinYang polar opposites]], but they share one thing in common: their insistence on self-reliance. |
| 43 | ** In the seventh chapter, Moe is going to tell Misa that [[GoalInLife Mira and Ao want to discover an asteroid together]] when Mira pulled Moe back, saying she'd rather do it by herself (i.e. without Misa's assistance). |
| 44 | ** Right after the previous scene, Mira gives Misa the banded stone she found during [[PicnicEpisode Chapter 4]] as a good-luck charm for the latter's college entrance exams. While we immediately know Misa uses that for Mira's aforementioned GoalInLife, Chapter 31 revealed why Misa does that--she wants to do that herself. |
| 45 | * In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', Sasha Blouse's energetic disposition and pluckiness lands her here. As emphasized in her introduction: Shadis sentenced her to run until she collapses, and she does it without complaint. What got her upset was being denied any dinner. Sasha later has several brushes with death, but never loses her optimistic nature. |
| 46 | * Casca from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' zigged in and out of this trope. She was first like this when Guts patronized her for being a weak female when she fell ill during her period, but she never let him get to her. After Guts returned after a year's absence when everything came crashing down for the Hawks, Casca had an emotional breakdown and nearly committed suicide, [[InterruptedSuicide but Guts saved her]] and [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre gave her some emotional strength]] [[spoiler:[[LoveEpiphany while admitting their love to each other]]]]. After that, Casca more or less [[ToughLeaderFacade resumed her role as the strong female acting-leader of the Hawks]], and even managed to keep her cool in the wake of a bad situation when [[spoiler: the Eclipse began, and the Hawks were warped to another dimension]]. [[FromBadToWorse And then that bad situation turned worse.]] [[BreakTheCutie Casca did not come]] [[RapeLeadsToInsanity out very well]] -- [[GoMadFromTheRevelation AT]] [[DrivenToMadness ALL]]. |
| 47 | * Noelle Silva of ''Manga/BlackClover''. She refuses to give up in tough situations, convincing Nozel that the elf-possessed humans do not have to be killed and will be saved by them. She passionately asks Patry to help her and the other Magic Knights grow stronger to defeat the Spade Kingdom. When asked what makes her think they can become strong enough in little time, she states that giving up is even harder than getting stronger. |
| 48 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': |
| 49 | ** After many, ''many'' ordeals and BreakTheCutie episodes, ''both'' Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue end up graduating into this at different times. |
| 50 | ** In the ''Everything But The Rain'' arc, [[spoiler: Masaki Kurosaki]] is this through and through. In [[SilkHidingSteel a more quiet way]], we may also count [[spoiler: Kanae Katagiri]]. |
| 51 | ** Uryuu Ishida is also a very rare [[DistaffCounterpart male version of this]], being closer to this archetype than to the grim {{Determinator}}, and probably taking up cues from his MissingMom [[spoiler: aka the aforementioned Kanae Katagiri]]. [[spoiler: It seems that his FaceHeelTurn has changed things, but then it' revealed that [[TheMole he's faking it]].]] |
| 52 | ** Other plucky girls in this series are: Karin Kurosaki, Tatsuki Arisawa, Chizuru Honshou, Yoruichi Shihouin, Sui-Feng, Yachiru Kusachiji, Nanao Ise, Rangiku Matsumoto, Hiyori Sarugaki, Lisa Yadomaru, Mashiro Kuna, Tia Harribel and her AmazonBrigade (whose VillainousValour was praised by Yamamoto [[spoiler:before he nearly killed them]]), Senna from the first movie, Homura from the third movie, and recently Jackie Tristan and Riruka Dokugamine. As an OlderAndWiser version, we have [[spoiler: Kirio Hikifune]]. |
| 53 | * Kita from ''Manga/BocchiTheRock'' is such an overwhelmingly optimistic extrovert that her "Kit-aura" blinds the more introverted Bocchi and turns [[TheCynic the cynical Seika]] to ash. |
| 54 | -->'''Seika:''' Stop it. [[GoodHurtsEvil You're killing me.]] |
| 55 | * All of the girls in ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'' have their plucky moments, specially [[spoiler:Anko Tokosumi]], [[spoiler:Kana Ushiro]] and [[spoiler:Youko Machi]]. |
| 56 | * Candace White "Candy" Andree from ''Manga/CandyCandy''. She has her breakdowns, but as soon as she's back to her feet, she comes back stronger ''than ever''. |
| 57 | * ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'': Sakura Kinomoto to some extent. While she is rather determined and frequently shows little concern for her own well-being, her disposition better resembles that of a real child under such situations, as such she does actually [[CowardlyLion show fear]] and break down at times, relying on [[TrueCompanions her friends' support]] to recover her strength. |
| 58 | * ''Manga/CaseClosed'' has several: Ran Mouri, who either witnesses or is subjected to BreakTheCutie many times but ultimately brings herself back; Sonoko Suzuki, who never loses her GenkiGirl behavior for too long [[ButtMonkey despite her amazingly bad luck]]; Masumi Sera, a BadassBiker {{bifauxnen}} who does her best to help her friends [[spoiler: and look for her missing older brother]], Miwako Sato, who is a physically ''and'' mentally strong ActionGirl; Hina Wada, an ActionGirl who believes in aliens and says she'd love to "have a heartfelt conversation with them using her fist" if they tried to invade... |
| 59 | %%** CanonForeigner Li Meiling and especially Sakura's best friend Tomoyo Daidouji. |
| 60 | * ''Anime/CodeGeass'': |
| 61 | ** Kallen Kouzuki [[spoiler:When faced against the now practically superhuman Suzaku, she fights him to a standstill, reducing ''both'' of their machines to scrap before finally destroying Suzaku's machine with the very last blow she has left before her machine shuts down. Suzaku even wonders aloud how he can't beat her, even with his "live" Geass]]. |
| 62 | ** Euphemia li Britannia and Shirley Fenette also count. [[spoiler:Doesn't work as well, though.]] |
| 63 | * Aura of ''Literature/{{Corsair}}'' boisterous, opinionated, and quick-tempered, and remains so even after she is kidnapped and threatened with execution. |
| 64 | * ''Anime/CuteHighEarthDefenseClubLove'': |
| 65 | ** Yumoto Hakone is a [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male example]]. He eagerly accepted his role as protector of the planet and he's usually the most proactive and energetic fighter during MonsterOfTheWeek battles. |
| 66 | ** Gora Hakone qualifies; it must be a family trait. His parents disappeared when he was young and he's had to raise his brother from infancy to adolescents by himself while running a business. Despite that, the brothers have a healthy relationship, the bathhouse provides stable income, and Gora remains mostly well-adjusted. [[spoiler: That's not even counting his stint as a [[MagicalGirlWarrior Magical Boy Warrior]].]] |
| 67 | * In ''Manga/DearBrother'' and specially in [[AdaptationExpansion the anime verion]], Tomoko Arikura is a perpetually feisty GenkiGirl who supports her shy and sweet best friend Nanako no matter what and always does so with a huge smile. |
| 68 | * [[SpoiledSweet Mimi Tachikawa]] and [[CheerfulChild Hikari Yagami]] of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''. In the second part Hikari's will [[HeroicBSOD falters once in a while]] but [[CameBackStrong she ultimately recovers]] and stays as this, and she's also joined by Miyako Inoue and Jun Motomiya. [[TeamMom Sora Takenouchi]] zigs in and out of the trope, specially in the first part, but in the end she played it more or less well. |
| 69 | * ''Anime/ADogOfFlanders1975'': Alois Cogez. Even after her father formally bans her from seeing Nello, she still visits on him on the day of the art contest and tells him she is praying for him. She frequently stands up to her father and insists on Nello's goodness, not caring if she gets punished. |
| 70 | * Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo's early manga ''Manga/{{Domu}}: A Child's Dream'' gave us Etsuko, a little girl with immense PsychicPowers she uses to battle a PsychopathicManchild SerialKiller. All the while she is spunky and headstrong, first responding to seeing him psychically manipulate a baby to fall off the roof of the apartment complex with, "What an awful brat you are! Really now?!" and scaring the old man by using her powers to rattle the bench he is sitting on. |
| 71 | * Mai and Mami from ''Anime/ExplorerWomanRay'', twin girls who travel to South America in search of hidden treasure, aiming to meet up with the AdventurerArchaeologist title character. Despite their youth, naivite and obvious inexperience, even being shot at by the bad guys in search of their stolen MacGuffin doesn't deter them. |
| 72 | * ''Manga/FairyTail'': |
| 73 | ** Erza's an example of the more masculine {{Determinator}} trope. |
| 74 | ** Lucy is a more traditional example, as while she has cried in despair several times over the course of watching her friends and Celestial Spirits get hurt for her sake, losing her father and NeverGotToSayGoodbye, [[spoiler:losing her contract with Aquarius after breaking her key to save her friends]], she still manages to pull herself together and remain cheery as ever. |
| 75 | ** Mavis Vermillion might be the pluckiest of all. For the record, her backstory is probably one of the most tragedy-filled of all the members of the members of Fairy Tail, and yet despite having been sent over the DespairEventHorizon [[spoiler:after being cursed into an EnemyToAllLivingThings]] she still managed to come back as bright and compassionate as ever. |
| 76 | * ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' ([[TheAnimeOfTheGame anime]]): |
| 77 | ** Despite being helpless in combat and painfully knowing it, Sulia Gaudeamus keeps going on and doing her best to help Terry, Joe, Andy and Mai stop her evil brother, Laocorn, and save him from himself. [[spoiler:And if she has to commit suicide to save him... she will.]] |
| 78 | ** Kim's wife, Myenungsuk. When Kim was in the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle, she kept her cool and her trust in him, refusing to cry and break down for the sake of him and their kids as well as herself. |
| 79 | %%** Mai is this too, despite her bad luck in battles. More noticeable in the games, tho. |
| 80 | %%* Rana Lingchen from ''Manga/{{Freezing}}''. |
| 81 | * Tohru Honda from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this trope]]. She still is optimistic despite being orphaned, temporarily homeless, and living in a tent, bullied in the past, and helping a whole DysfunctionJunction with their trauma. Then we learn that [[spoiler: this is her way of dealing with all the pain in her life--she's not exactly a StepfordSmiler, as she is sincerely happy often, but she also uses it as a way to keep from succumbing to grief and accepting that her beloved mother is gone.]] And then... [[spoiler: it's reconstructed and reinforced: when a maddened and despaired [[BigBad Akito]] tries to definitely break her as the members of the DysfunctionJunction are being released of their curses... Tohru acknowledges that not so strong part of herself, accepts it, and manages to ''kindly speak to Akito and offer her kindness as well''. This finally breaks the vicious cycle that has trapped the Sohma clan, and even when Tohru is severely injured after falling off the cliff she's standing, it kickstarts Akito's HeelFaceTurn, and helps Tohru herself to deal with her own suffering.]] |
| 82 | %%* Winry Rockbell and May Chang from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Riza Hawkeye and Izumi Curtis are adult versions. |
| 83 | * ''Manga/{{Fuuka}}'': Fuuka is an optimistic, energetic girl - and once she gets inspired, it would probably take a speeding truck to dislodge the idea from her head. |
| 84 | * Hajime Ichinose from ''Anime/GatchamanCrowds''. She's actually so cheerful and strongwilled that [[spoiler: she can get Berg Katze to back off her case, simply because they is ''no'' darkness in her heart]]. |
| 85 | * Maya Kitajima and Ayumi Himekawa from ''Manga/GlassMask''. The first decides to fulfill her dream of being an actress despite how odds always go against her, the latter refuses to have things handed to her and wants be famous for her own merits. |
| 86 | * Hanako from ''Manga/GoodbyeMyRoseGarden'' may be an easily flustered bookworm, but she's notably strong-willed and determined, speaking out against any injustice she witnesses or experiences. In her EstablishingCharacterMoment, when a book publisher brushes off her attempts to contact the writer Victor Franks, with his justification being that Franks would be uninterested in a woman's "emotional" writing, Hanako ''snaps'' and tells him that she didn't cross an ocean simply to be mocked. The noblewoman Alice Douglas witnesses this outburst, and later cites Hanako's unshakeable will as the very thing that made her decide to hire her. |
| 87 | * Wendy Garret of ''Anime/GunXSword'' has all the stubbornness of the {{Determinator}} combined with a sometimes inordinate amount of optimism. The introductory narrative to the second episode explicitly indicates that Wendy symbolizes hope in opposition to the despair of her partner, Van, but it wouldn't be hard to figure that out without the narration. |
| 88 | * Ohana Matsumae, the main character of ''Anime/HanasakuIroha'', is an interesting take on this Trope in that her pluckiness is presented as both a weakness and a strength. On one hand, her optimism and sincere desire to help people lets her accomplish some good things, but on the flipside her tendency to dive headfirst into something without a solid gameplan does backfire on her from time to time. |
| 89 | * ''Anime/HelloSandybell'': Sandybell Christie. She always stands up to the stuck up Kitty's bullying, and despite having barely any leads, she tries her best to find her biological mother. |
| 90 | * Most of the girls in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. These're be comfirmed in their profile especially: |
| 91 | ** Belarus is described as one by Russia. But he quickly adds: [[{{Yandere}} "In]] [[StalkerWithACrush a]] [[AbhorrentAdmirer bad way."]] |
| 92 | ** Resident LadyOfWar Vietnam is one too, as her profile says she's "a very headstrong woman" and that "there are many strong women in her history". |
| 93 | ** Taiwan gets her profile in the fourth manga volume ("An island girl nation with a headstrong and easygoing personality!") She shows it via cheering up Vietnam, teasing her brothers, and interacting with all of them as an equal. "It's okay, us Taiwanese don't believe in bad fortunes!" It's confirmed by her ImageSong, [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/12042065.html?thread=227612497#t227612497 "Poipoipoi."]] 'Poi' means "poof," and it's used in-context as "making problems and bad luck go POOF!" |
| 94 | ** And throw Prussia inside for a [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male example]]. |
| 95 | ** Poland is an even better one. Who says that a WholesomeCrossdresser [[ValleyGirl Valley Boy]] can't be [[{{Determinator}} unfailingly stubborn]] as well? |
| 96 | ** Korea, too. He will never ever give up chasing after his siblings, saying stuff "belongs to him" and being almost always unfailingly cheerful while doing so. |
| 97 | ** [[TeamMom Ukraine's]] latest profile says that she [[BewareTheNiceOnes "will stand her ground until the last,"]] and in-comic [[{{Bokukko}} Belgium]] seems to almost refer to herself as one. |
| 98 | --->'''Belgium:''' I may be a bit plain, but I'm doing my best! |
| 99 | ** WordOfGod refers to [[ProperLady Liechtenstein]] as mature and strong-willed. Considering that she handles her [[{{Tsundere}} older]] [[TheGunslinger brother]] [[BigBrotherInstinct Switzerland]]'s mood swings rather calmly and skillfully, it's '''not''' an InformedAbility. |
| 100 | ** There's also [[{{Shorttank}} Seychelles]], who tries hard just to get people to know her name. She keeps doing it, and also manages to keep both England's arrogant behavior ''and'' France's lechery at bay. |
| 101 | ** Also the Principality of Wy, in a LittleMissSnarker way. |
| 102 | ** Even Monaco, the resident {{Ojou}} has shades of this with sketches of her [[ActionGirl in armor]] and having her profile describe her as someone who worries a lot, but gives off a proud impression. She also has an attitude like this when it comes to [[TheGambler poker.]] |
| 103 | ** Belgium, too. She sometimes frets over her AloofBigBrother Netherlands, but most of the time she keeps her bright smile and her teasing, cheerful behavior no matter what. |
| 104 | ** ''The'' example in the series, however, is Hungary. Shown clearly not just in the profile, but in her interaction with pretty much everyone: she takes her {{Meido}} position in stride despite how it's not exactly easy, fights the aforementioned Prussia [[BoisterousBruiser without hesitation]], refuses to stay put when someone she dislikes is around... |
| 105 | %%* Rei Miyamoto from ''Manga/HighschoolOfTheDead''. |
| 106 | * ''Literature/IHadThatSameDreamAgain'': Nanoka has a bit of an attitude problem and tends to look down on her classmates for not seeing things like she does, but on the whole she is optimistic, courageous, and tries her best to help and encourage people. |
| 107 | * ''Manga/HikaruNoDensetsu'': Hikari is determined to be an Olympian no matter what, and trains rigorously for the day she'll get to fight for the World Cup. Her inspiration is the RealLife celebrity Diliana Georgieva, who rose from an ordinary woman to being one Bulgaria's greatest athletes. |
| 108 | * ''Anime/IsabelleOfParis'': Even though she's under house arrest and suspected of being a traitor, fifteen-year-old Isabelle Laustin becomes a double agent for France and rebels against the government by shaving her head and becoming a spy. She even has the audacity to walk up the Captain of the French military and BitchSlap him. |
| 109 | * ''Manga/InuYasha'': |
| 110 | ** Kagome Higurashi has got self-esteem problems, is the reincarnation of a priestess who CameBackWrong, her {{love interest|s}} can be a real jerk despite having a good heart, her friends have huge troubles of their own... and yet she stands by them no matter what. Sure, she has more than one breakdown, but she still stands by her friends and [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld is more concerned with her love life and her grades.]] |
| 111 | ** Rin may not be much use in a fight, but let's face it, she's brave as hell. Heck, the first time she meets Sesshomauru she doesn't run screaming when he snarls at her but actually dumps water on him; and when Jaken's sick she climbs a mountain filled with demons to find a cure for him, without a second thought. |
| 112 | %%* Kotoko Aihara ([[spoiler:later, Nurse Kotoko Irie]]) from ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss''. |
| 113 | * ''Anime/JeanieWithTheLightBrownHair'': Jeanie. Diana won't let her go to medical school? She argues and convinces her to agree. The children at the orphanage play pranks on her and don't trust her? She pranks them back and impresses them, and they become her friend. A child goes missing? Jeanie convinces everyone to help find them using betting money as a reward. No matter what obstacle appears, Jeanie is ready to throw herself at it and win. |
| 114 | * ''Anime/KaleidoStar'': |
| 115 | ** Sora Naegino practically embodies this trope. No matter how much TrainingFromHell she is put through or what sort of abuse she receives, she always manages to pull through using sheer optimism and determination. And if she feels her strength sapping away, she will soon recover it. It's also kind of a plot point, as [[spoiler: if she stays down for too long, she will stop seeing FairyCompanion Fool and completely lose her chance.]] |
| 116 | ** May Wong becomes this once she gets over her JerkAss phase. Anna Heart, Mia Guillem, Rosetta Passel and Katie Taylor are already there, and the backstory gives us [[spoiler: Sophie Oswald]]. |
| 117 | * Nanami Momozono from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss.'' Her defining character trait, besides ChronicHeroSyndrome, is that she likes to see other people happy and will go out of her way to make them happy. Even if it means that she has to get hurt or sacrifice something to make it so. |
| 118 | * ''Anime/KatriGirlOfTheMeadows'': Katri Ukkonemei is a headstrong Finnish girl who's strength inspires others. She never learned how to read, so she taught herself by constantly visiting Palki Village's library, and [[spoiler: works her way into getting a scholarship]] despite being a mere FarmersGirl. |
| 119 | * While Ryuko Matoi from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' is more of a female {{Determinator}}, her OnlyFriend Mako Mankanshoku is this through and through. She always comes out of any situation with a smile on her face, no matter what. She's pushed to her limits when [[spoiler: sharing a stand with the demoted Elite Four while cheering Ryuko on during the King of the Hill Final Battle]], resorting in her cheering for ''herself'' so she won't crack under the pressure. |
| 120 | * Yuriko of ''Manga/KotouraSan''. Nothing seems to stop this [[TheUnfettered fiercely determined]] young woman in her quest to change [[CrapsaccharineWorld society's]] [[AbominationAccusationAttack views]] [[FantasticRacism against]] PsychicPowers. |
| 121 | * Madoka Kyouno from ''Anime/LagrangeTheFlowerOfRinne'', going so far as to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxJuI8YWx20 sing in the cockpit during a mecha battle]]... the same battle in which she deliberately tries to keep collateral damage to areas she knows to be empty of bystanders (such as the lot of a recently demolished house or a shop that had gone out of business the week before). Considering the genre she's in, she angsts remarkably little - and even when she does, [[AngstWhatAngst she shrugs it off quickly]] and jumps right back to the other extreme on the optimist-realist scale. It is later revealed that she wasn't always like this: [[spoiler:after her mother's death, Madoka was a depressed wreck until her cousin inspired her into the energetic girl always ready to help everyone regardless of what needs to be doing]]. Truly, Madoka's motto in life is JumpedAtTheCall: she doesn't pilot because she ''has'' to, she pilots because she ''wants'' to help. |
| 122 | * ''Manga/{{Lady}}'': In spite of her mother's death and her grandfather refusing to accept her for being half-Japanese, Lynn strives to be accepted in the Russell family no matter what. Initially, she was broken by [[spoiler:learning her father would formally marry her WickedStepmother and tried to escape back to Japan to prevent it from happening. When her father asks that she stay and breaks it off, Lynn works on being accepted through her own merits - and eventually does when she wins the Lady's Crest and represents Great Britain in the Olympics, even saving the Russell family house thanks to a bet she made with Victor Reynolds. Finally, her grandfather accepts her.]] |
| 123 | * Simone of ''Anime/LaSeineNoHoshi'' is just a peasant girl ([[spoiler: ReallyRoyaltyReveal or so she thought]]), but from studying under Duke de Forges, she becomes a vigilante that kicks the tar out of France's corrupt elite regularly. |
| 124 | * Lakshu from ''Manga/LegendOfHeavenlySphereShurato''. She can't fight, the Goddess/mother figure she's a priestess of is TakenForGranite, her crush and her friends get hurt and/or die as they try to restore her... and Lakshu will help no matter what. |
| 125 | * ''Anime/LucyMayOfTheSouthernRainbow'': Lucy-May is this constistently. Arthur says she can't have a dingo unless it's trained? She domesticates it. She can't speak to Hercules because of the LanguageBarrier? She communicates non-verbally. No matter what problem she faces, Lucy-May always tries to solve it. |
| 126 | * ''Anime/MacrossDelta'': Freyja Wion. Even her homeworld declaring war on the rest of the galaxy ([[YouCantGoHomeAgain indirectly exiling her from it]]), being involved in the middle of multiple war zones as part of her career, and [[spoiler: finding out her love interest's father bombed her homeworld]] ultimately do not stop her from pursuing her dream to sing with the idol group Walkure, even if they do take her aback, and she ultimately holds her energetic personality and kind heart to the end. |
| 127 | ** She follows her predecessor, [[Anime/MacrossFrontier Ranka Lee]], in this regard. While Ranka is significantly less energetic, she is no less determined to be an idol and pursue her dreams (and her {{love interest|s}} Alto), even despite her DarkAndTroubledPast and frequent setbacks. |
| 128 | %%* Elenore Baker from ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' is pretty much this the entire series. |
| 129 | %%* Why would anyone consider Hikaru from ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' ''not'' to be one of these? |
| 130 | %%** Umi, Fuu, Presea, Princess Tarta, Princess Tata, Aska and [[spoiler: post-HeelFaceTurn!Caldina]], too. |
| 131 | * Anju Kitahara from ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'', a quiet YamatoNadeshiko who handles her [[DelicateAndSickly ill girl]] and LoveHurts problems with amazing strength. |
| 132 | * Sayaka Yumi from ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Her mother was dead. Her father cared for her, but he was MarriedToTheJob and nearly never was there for her. the guy she liked was a sexist jerk (okay, JerkWithAHeartOfGold). One of her classmates was a borderline StalkerWithACrush. And her country -and the whole world- was under attack of a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds and MadScientist who took lessons from Hitler. And she still was brave, hopeful and optimistic, not allowing anything got her down for long -she had several HeroicBSOD moments, but they did not last long-, and trusting they would win and things would get better, not matter what. |
| 133 | * Relena Peacecraft, Hilde Schbeiker, Sally Po, Cathy Bloom, Long Meiran and Lucrezia Noin from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing''. All of these young women knew they were getting into huge messes, and that they'd likely not get out of there alive [[spoiler: (and Meiran ultimately died)]], but neither gave up on their purposes. |
| 134 | * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'': |
| 135 | ** A dark example is Nena Trinity. While throwing the VSign around, she absolutely refuses to give up her quest for three things: revenge, survival and (after achieving those) happiness, even in the face of death. [[spoiler:[[KarmicDeath She doesn't succeed, as her early screw ups catch up with her]].]] |
| 136 | ** A lighter example is Mileina Vashti, almost always plucky and happy despite being caught in the middle of a war. [[spoiler:She lives to tell]]. Also Mileina's OneeSama and fellow {{bridge bunn|ies}}y, Feldt Grace. [[spoiler:She gets very broken in season 1, then some more in season 2, but also pulls through and lives.]] |
| 137 | * Ochaco Uraraka from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' was deliberately written this way in order to have a more natural relationship with the more pessimistic and self-conscious main character, Izuku Midoriya. |
| 138 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 139 | ** Hinata Hyuuga. Her other theme, aside from her [[NiceGirl nice, gentle personality]] and [[FanOfUnderdog her love for Naruto]], is her self-improvement and shredding her ShrinkingViolet side. She's one of the first people to adopt Naruto's ninja way: knowing that he's watching, she refuses to give up against Neji despite severe injuries, even standing up one last time after the referee ends the match to keep her from getting ''killed''. She reaffirmed her pluckiness by doing what she could to protect Naruto from Pain, fully knowing that this might be her last stand. The manga made it both awesome and heartbreaking, [[AdaptationExpansion the anime]] made it ''doubly awesome'' and ''doubly heartbreaking''. |
| 140 | ** Also Sakura Haruno. See her fights vs Ino (where she deliberately pressed Ino's BerserkButton to avoid getting sympathy and broke Ino's Mind Switch Jutsu, albeit with a little help from Naruto's cheering) and Sasori (where she got serious injuries ''and kept fighting anyway''). |
| 141 | * Many girls from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' qualify, but [[ShrinkingViolet Nodoka]] surpasses them all. ''Every time'' she's encountered an enemy, despite having no combat skills whatsoever, her first reaction is to get out her artifact and fight, even when up against opponents completely out of her league, even when ''everyone else'' is panicking, [[HeroicBSOD lost in despair]], or running away, even when she only ''just'' figured out that magic even ''exists''. In the middle of the battle between Fate's party and Ala Alba at Ostia instead of retreating with the rest of the party she forced Kotarou to take her ''right in front of Fate'' so she could get his true name and then interrogated him ''as he was attempting to petrify her''. And of course, when [[FromBadToWorse everything went wrong]] and [[spoiler:several of her friends were erased from existence right in front of her by one of the most powerful characters in the entire series she gets up, steals HIS artifact, downloads the instruction manual ''[[{{Telepathy}} from his brain]]'', and [[WeakButSkilled teleports away]] so she can tell the rest of Ala Alba they're taking the battle to the enemy]]. |
| 142 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 143 | ** Nami despite her horrific childhood and being a DamselInDistress on occasion has displayed Plucky Girl qualities since she was little and is still highly adventurous and bold as a grown woman. Even when OvershadowedByAwesome she’s proved be invaluable and supportive crewmate even when the Straw Hats have suffered a humiliating defeat such as in Water 7. |
| 144 | ** Vivi’s greatest trait is her nigh-unbreakable optimism and pluck even when faced with the massive threat of criminal organisation ripping her country apart from within. Her wild bravery has freaked out her guardian Igaram (who fears Vivi will become a pirate) and inspired her friends the Straw Hats to save her country. |
| 145 | ** Kaya, after having spent an arc DelicateAndSickly recovers and journeys out of her village determined to become a doctor, inspired by Usopp whom she adores. |
| 146 | ** Deconstructed with Tashigi who is a Plucky Girl, but this attitude gives her the terrible habit of picking fights with people that are way out of her league, especially ones such as Robin or Law, who have powers that easily render Tashigi's own abilities useless. |
| 147 | * Ringo Oginome and Masako Natsume from ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}''. Himari graduates into this on episode 18, which also shows us ''exactly'' how indomitably plucky [[spoiler:the deceased Momoka]] was. |
| 148 | * ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'': |
| 149 | ** When told that the boy who rescued her two years ago has gone missing (and hasn't seen since), Yellow immediately agrees to go out and look for him despite the fact that she barely knows anything about Pokemon battling. |
| 150 | ** Green could also count. She's usually upbeat and optimistic despite having some of the worst luck ever. Especially at the beginning of the ''[=FireRed/LeafGreen=]'' arc, where her parents disappear ''right in front of her'' (though that trauma ''does'' give her a HeroicBSOD for a while). |
| 151 | * Pick any MagicalGirlWarrior from ''Anime/PrettyCure''. There are lots to choose from, and chances are that they are as good with [[GoodOldFisticuffs their fists]] as they are with their magic and are completely unafraid to prove it against anybody from the MonsterOfTheWeek to the BigBad himself. Standout examples include [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Nagisa Misumi/Cure Black]], [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar Saki Hyuuga/Cure Bloom]], [[Anime/YesPrettyCure5 Nozomi Yumehara/Cure Dream, Urara Kasugano/Cure Lemonade]], [[Anime/FreshPrettyCure Miki Aono/Cure Berry]], [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Erika Kurumi/Cure Marine]], [[Anime/SuitePrettyCure Hibiki Hojo/Cure Melody]], [[Anime/SmilePrettyCure Miyuki Hoshizora/Cure Happy, Yayoi Kise/Cure Peace]], [[Anime/DokiDokiPrecure Mana Aida/Cure Heart, Alice Yotsuba/Cure Rosetta]], [[Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure Megumi Aino/Cure Lovely, Hime Shirayuki/Cure Princess]], [[Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure Haruka Haruno/Cure Flora]], and [[Anime/KiraKiraPrecureALaMode Ichika Usami/Cure Whip]]. |
| 152 | * Tomoka Osakada from ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' never ever loses her smile, her stubborness, and her will to support Seigaku and her beloved Ryoma through thick and thin. An Tachibana from Fudomine is somewhat more serious, but she's not to be trifled with either. |
| 153 | %%* Miyako and ''specially'' Chiriko from ''Manga/PrivatePrince''. |
| 154 | * ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': |
| 155 | ** Sayaka Miki. Shame that it's [[CrapsaccharineWorld that kind of world]], as it doesn't end too well for the poor "hero of justice". [[spoiler:Fortunately for her (and many others), in the GrandFinale Madoka graduates to one... and is so powerful and strong that ''[[AbstractApotheosis she rewrites the universe itself]]'', and grants Sayaka a much more peaceful end.]] |
| 156 | ** Hitomi Shizuki is referred as such by her seiyuu Creator/RyokoShintani, as well as by Creator/AoiYuuki (Madoka) and Creator/ChiwaSaito (Homura). She's an interesting example in how this trope has both strengths and flaws: she always smiles and tries to be there for her friends, but ''the'' time Hitomi tries to directly resolve a conflict [[spoiler: via making both Sayaka and herself face their shared feelings for Kamijou]], [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom she commits a huge mistake]]. |
| 157 | ** ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica'': |
| 158 | *** As opposed to the main series, Sayaka ''does'' get to play this straight here, especially via protecting herself and Hitomi [[spoiler:during the witch attack on their school]]. [[spoiler:Too bad they can't save Madoka.]] |
| 159 | *** Speaking of ''Oriko Magica'' we've got [[TokenMiniMoe Yuma]] [[TheWoobie Chitose]]. "[[RousingSpeech Someday]] [[DoNotGoGentle is not today]]", indeed. |
| 160 | ** From ''Manga/PuellaMagiKazumiMagica'', there is Kazumi herself. [[spoiler:[[DespairEventHorizon She found out that she's a clone, her friends are betraying her, and her memory is all lies.]]]] [[SkewedPriorities All she needs]] [[MoodWhiplash is]] [[BigEater some food]], and then ''[[ThePowerOfFriendship she bounces back.]]'' |
| 161 | * ''Anime/{{Pollyanna}}'': Pollyanna Whittier is determined to remain a BlitheSpirit no matter what, and invents The Glad Game to keep her head high in the face of whatever life throws at her. [[BreakTheCutie And boy, does it throw a lot]]. |
| 162 | * ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': There was a time when Ukyo wanted vengeance against Genma Saotome for renegging on his promise to wed her to Ranma, by abandoning her. And despite having caught up to them (years later), she's no closer to achieving her goal of becoming Ranma's bride. You'd think she'd be crushed, but she's actually... kinda okay with it. After all, he calls her "his cute fiancee" and she gets to attend class with him. For her, it's a start. In the meantime, she runs a successful business and tries to think of mostly nonviolent ways to absolve Ranma's engagement to Akane, [[ShipperOnDeck by trying to pair Akane off with Ryoga.]] |
| 163 | %%* Utena Tenjou from ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', who's both this and a ActionGirl. |
| 164 | * Kiku Takane from ''Manga/RingNiKakero'', who will always support and look after her little brother Ryuuji and work hard to guide him through their shared dream of reaching the World Boxing Championship. |
| 165 | * Juliet Capulet from ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'' who has more moments of BreakTheCutie than her play counterpart. The poor girl's parents were killed when she was both dethroned and forced to be a NobleFugitive at a young age, forced to dress as a boy most of her life, then being shocked and unprepared as she remembers her parents' death was forced and expected by her guardians to lead a revolution when she's not ready to. And to top it all off, she falls in love with the son of the man who killed her parents and though she has a moment of giving up and wishing she was dead she still retains her sweet lively fiery and lighthearted personality and is eventually ready to lead a revolution. |
| 166 | * ''Literature/TheSacredBlacksmith'' has Cecily, who in the anime, despite losing and needing saving a lot, never stops practicing and fighting. |
| 167 | * Tuxedo Mask from ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' could definitely be considered a [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male example]]. He'll face [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]] and the QuirkyMinibossSquad just as quickly as the girls, and his faith and encouragement of Usagi is often key to saving the day. |
| 168 | * Saori Kido aka Athena from ''Manga/SaintSeiya''. And the same goes to the Athena that came before her, Sasha from ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas''. Both girls are the local {{Barrier Maiden}}s and go through quite the BreakTheCutie, but refuse to give up. |
| 169 | %%** Also Miho, Aquila Marin, Shunrei, Princess Flair and little Helen (the two last from {{filler}} anime arcs) of ''Manga/SaintSeiya''. Also Ophicus Shaina, after her CharacterDevelopment. |
| 170 | * Cleao Everlasting from ''Literature/SorcererStabberOrphen'' will ''not'' let Orphen go kill himself before he returns her the Sword of Baltanders that her father gave her before dying, and which he needs for a very important quest. So what if she has to tag along with him and his apprentice Majic despite all the dangers it'll bring to her? She ''will'' follow them, become the TeamMom, and pull through no matter what. |
| 171 | * Ai from ''Literature/SundayWithoutGod'' is brave, optimistic, and determined, and she goes out her way to help those in need. Of course, since she's resolved to save the world God has abandoned, this is the attitude she needs. |
| 172 | %%* Megumi "Megu" Minami and Sakurako Yukihira from ''Manga/TanteiGakuenQ''. Shino Katagiri is an adult version. |
| 173 | * ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': |
| 174 | ** Nia Teppelin will tell you she's not going to die. To your face. [[DefiantCaptive While you're shoving a pistol into her forehead. Or about to snap her in half with your claws. Or about to demateralize her.]] She may not be able to fight you, but she ''will'' tell you to fuck off (only very [[IFeelAngry politely]]), because Simon's on his way, and that's a wave of pain you don't want to happen. |
| 175 | ** Yoko, who went on and stayed as a cheerful, reliable and protective CoolBigSis despite all the shit that happened to the Dai-Guren Brigade. |
| 176 | * ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'': |
| 177 | ** Pao-Lin/Dragon Kid and Karina/Blue Rose. Dragon is a headstrong LittleMissBadass who goes all out in superheroing; Rose hates [[FauxActionGirl the raw deal she got as a heroine]] but keeps going on because it lets her save lives. |
| 178 | ** As of episode 21, Kaede Kaburagi has graduated into this. [[spoiler:So her beloved father was framed and she has just found out he's a superhero? Kaede immediately decides to go help him with her budding powers.]] And this is a ''ten year old girl''. |
| 179 | * Queen Shushou from ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms''. [[StepfordSmiler Youko]], [[RoyalBrat Shoukei]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Suzu]] don't start terribly plucky, but CharacterDevelopment soon fixes that. |
| 180 | * Several girls from ''Manga/VampireKnight'' - specially Yuuki, Yori and Fuuka [[spoiler:before she dies]]. |
| 181 | %%* Anzu Mazaki from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' though Mai Kujaku, Rebecca Hopkins and Shizuka Kawai also have their moments. |
| 182 | %%** Jaden Yuki from ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' counts as well as a [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male example]]. |
| 183 | * Keiko Yukimura from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. While she's usually a NeutralFemale, it's pretty amazing she pulls through after all the traumatizing events her boyfriends' life/career puts her in. In the manga, she didn't hesitate to ask to be taken to the Dark Tournament when she found out Yusuke had gone there. She may be a bit frailer in the anime, but she still does her best to be there for her friends when needed. To different degrees there's also Yukina, Shizuru, Botan, Ayame, Hinageshi from TheMovie, Kokou, Natsume, the Lady Doctor [[spoiler:aka Yuusuke's ancestor]] and [[spoiler:[[SheIsTheKing Mukuro]]]]. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 187 | * ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': |
| 188 | ** Characters/{{Mockingbird|MarvelComics}}, while more cynical than most examples, has also suffered so much that it'd be insane for her not to be cynical. Listing everything she's suffered would be a pretty big wall of text, but they include being raped, tortured, abducted, stalked, divorced, shunned by her own family, and yet she's pretty eager to just get back into the action and still cracks jokes all the while, and despite the tortures she's suffered, she's typically one of the fun ones of any group she's with. |
| 189 | ** Founding member Characters/TheWasp: losing her dad is what spurred her onto becoming a superhero, but she didn't become an angsty vengeance seeker, instead becoming the plucky idealist of the group. After her bitter divorce from her husband after his mental breakdown though, during which she was physically assaulted and left humiliated, she decided to commit to heroism more and took leadership of the team, turning the low point of her life into the start of her high-point. She's suffered still since, most notably spending time trapped in another universe believed dead by her friends and family, but still remains one of the most hopeful of the team, if not TheHeart at times. |
| 190 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': Stephanie Brown, the third Characters/{{Batgirl}}. Her ex-con of a father is starting to cause trouble again? Her mother's an addict? Her dad's trying to kill her? The father of her baby abandons her and she almost dies during delivery? The boy she's got her eyes on and who happens to be Robin's not interested in her? Batman tries to get her to quit being a crimefighter again and again - then fires her as Robin? She gets tortured, humiliated and almost killed and is forced to leave Gotham to heal? ... C'mon, you don't actually think that's gonna stop her, do you? |
| 191 | * ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' could be considered a {{Reconstruction}} of this trope; the superheroine, Emp, continuously tries to be a hero despite having an abysmal track record of getting tied up and humiliated at virtually every turn. She does ''not'' simply ignore or brush off the failures, nor does she dispute that [[{{Deconstruction}} being repeatedly rendered a powerless, sexualised toy of thugs and supervillains despite her very best efforts is deeply traumatic,]] (she openly admits to having nightmares about being tied up, but says they're not so bad because she can wake up from them, [[TearJerker unlike the countless times it's happened to her in real life]]) and she spends a fair amount of time in each volume sobbing uncontrollably. However, because the few times she ''does'' win are spectacularly awesome enough to see her through the bad times, and because every time she dons the suit she convinces herself that ''maybe'' it won't happen this time, [[{{Reconstruction}} she remains a Nice Girl with Heroic Willpower who is noted by a growing number of characters to be vastly stronger than many more badass characters who seldom have to deal with humiliation and helplessness]]. |
| 192 | * Luke Pearson's ''ComicBook/{{Hilda}}'' doesn't let trolls, giants, or big scary dogs get her down. |
| 193 | %%* Elena Potato in ''ComicBook/MonsterAllergy''. |
| 194 | * [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]] from ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Although she's gone through some rough patches and worries more than most examples of this trope, she is still the type of character that will have no qualms about beating a B list hero with a baseball bat or bringing Peter out of slum with some helpful optimism. |
| 195 | %%** Her daughter, in the alternate timeline, May Parker a.k.a. ComicBook/SpiderGirl. |
| 196 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'': |
| 197 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]], the TropeCodifier for comic books. Parents splitting up, new school, new freaky powers that somehow [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway aren't quite as useful as the powers of your new classmates]], and a [[Awesome/XMen demon attack on your first Christmas there?]] Not a problem! [[FromBadToWorse It Gets Worse?]] She gets over it. |
| 198 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJubilee Jubilee]]. From about middle school age on life has constantly tried to crap all over her but not the murder of her parents, homelessness, being separated from her surrogate father figure, being captured and tortured by anti-mutant government initiatives, having the boy you have a crush on blown up, being crucified, losing her powers, or being turned into a vampire will stop her from forging ahead and realizing that life's what you make of it, so why not make it fun. [[spoiler: Though she gets cured of the vampirism part later.]] |
| 199 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]] has displayed these qualities many times; as a girl she was wild and happy until her friend Annie was run over and died in her arms filling Jean with despair as her Mutation activated. Thanks to Professor X, Jean was able get out of her depression by [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind showing her happiness and optimism still inside her mind]]. Even after countless hardships Jean has held onto that optimism and been an emotional anchor for the X-Men frequently. |
| 200 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]] despite both her parents dying, getting buried under rubble, growing up the streets, leaving her Kenya tribe whom worship her as a goddess to go America and join the X-Men where she will be spurned and hated, having her beloved mentor killed and then shortly after her husband divorcing her - Ororo has never lost that plucky determination to carry on she’s had since she was a girl on the streets of Cairo. |
| 201 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]] to a mixed degree; she started off a scared and depressed girl who managed to find self confidence and become so wild she got her monicker “Rogue” after causing so much trouble and running away from home. After pulling a permanent HeelFaceTurn to the X-Men, Rogue constantly displays her vivacious pluck with only the occasional bouts of sadness over her TouchOfDeath [[BadPowersGoodPeople power]] though even after countless hardships she’s managed to remain strong. Her [[Film/XMenFilmSeries film counterpart]] however, sadly doesn’t quite evolve past the “scared and depressed” stage. |
| 202 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsLauraKinney X-23]] of all X-Ladies becomes this in later comics, having thrown away well-justified stoicism and depression of her earlier comic years, she’s extremely upbeat to point of being TheCape. She remains strong even in face of [[spoiler: her “[[OppositeSexClone father]]” Wolverine dying ([[DeathIsCheap he gets better]]) telling Storm the last thing he’d want is for her break down over his death]]. |
| 203 | [[/folder]] |
| 204 | |
| 205 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 206 | * ''Fanfic/AceCombatEquestriaChronicles'': |
| 207 | ** Cloud Kicker; for most of the time, whatever she's doing, she acts like a true optimist. |
| 208 | ** Then there is Rainbow Dash, who isn't afraid to tackle any kind of challenge, believing fully she'll be able to handle it. |
| 209 | * Annabelle Lennox in the ''Film/Transformers2007'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BlackCrayons''. She's sweet and friendly, but she can be as brave and stubborn as her parents (or Ironhide) when she needs to. [[spoiler:She sneaks her way into a ''warzone'' because she thought she needed to be there. Keep in mind that she's ''six years old'' at the time.]] |
| 210 | * ''Fanfic/BloodAndHonor'': Vette doesn't let torture, slavery, the uncertain fate of her family, the downtrodden state of her people, or anything else get her down for long. In the first few chapters of the story she faces near-certain death with unflinching bravery. She's certain that things will work out, one way or another, and on the off-chance they don't, she's determined to go down with her head held high and a good one liner. |
| 211 | * Kumiko of ''Fanfic/DespairsLastResort''. She's hyper and fun loving despite having to deal with trials and murder. [[spoiler: The first murder does break her for a while, considering that the victim was her best friend Chiyo.]] |
| 212 | * Avalina in ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'' (Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' fanfic). After ending up in [[VillainProtagonist the]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent Horned]] [[WalkingWasteland King's]] castle during one stormy night, she's forced to remain there as a prisoner who's not allowed to leave [[{{Mordor}} the lich's lands]]. She's permitted to say her farewells to her family and takes with her only her faithful CoolHorse. She comes close to death several times (because of the Horned King or otherwise), greatly misses her home and [[TheWoobie you'd want to hug her whenever she cries]]. Still she manages to keep going as [[LimaSyndrome the Horned King's]] MoralityPet. |
| 213 | * Chloe Cerise in ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' starts out as a ShrinkingViolet in her world before she gets onto the Infinity Train where she quickly proves that with a bit of confidence and a steel pipe, that she can tackle any and all foes. By the time Act 2 starts, she's quite the determined warrior who is off to topple the Apex. |
| 214 | * ''Fanfic/OnceUponAStudioVersionTwoPointOh'': Cinderella and Rapunzel both this fit trope perfectly, as Cinderella is determined to turn the situation around following Goofy's failed first attempt. Both Fairy Godmother and Rapunzel take the initiative, as the former conjures a guitar for Rapunzel, while Raps herself begins playing a new rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star". |
| 215 | ** And just before Cinders starts singing, she happily whispers to everyone else gathered; "here we go", as they all listen intently. |
| 216 | * Jana Teires in ''Fanfic/TomRiddlesSchooldays''. No misfortune stops her, or even slows her down for long. |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:Film — Animation]] |
| 220 | * ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': Dot is shown to be incredibly determined, which allows her to fly. |
| 221 | * Many heroines in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. |
| 222 | ** Rapunzel from ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}''. This trait was something that varied between scripts in development. In ''Rapunzel Unbraided'', she was a plucky girl, but in the {{darker|and edgier}} ''Rapunzel'', she was more demure and anxious. In the final ''Tangled'', she is very optimistic and chipper despite being locked up for eighteen years with no human contact besides her "mother". |
| 223 | ** Vanellope von Schweetz from ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' has enough spirit to power a jet fighter, reacts to her circumstances as ThePollyanna and is the {{Determinator}} in her dream of becoming a racer. She's probably this trope PERSONIFIED, because after all the bullying and abuse she's been through, she's still optimistic and happy. Wow. |
| 224 | ** Anna from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}''. The traits that define her are her sheer optimism and energy. Similar fo the above-mentioned Rapunzel, in [[WhatCouldHaveBeen earlier versions of the film]], Anna apparently lacked much of this. In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM9palXgpC4 full version]] of the "That's no blizzard -- that's my sister!" MissingTrailerScene (which dates back to when Elsa was still the BigBad), she showed fears about jumping off a mountain, and in the CutSong "More Than Just A Spare", she has more self-confidence issues than in the final product. |
| 225 | ** Judy Hopps from ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}''. No amount of discrimination will stop her from helping others. [[spoiler:What temporarily brings her down is realizing her own unconscious bigotry actually made things worse for others.]] |
| 226 | * Dory from ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' and its sequel, ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory''. Despite having short-term memory loss, she remains extremely optimistic and her main saying is "Just keep swimming!". |
| 227 | * IntrepidReporter Roxanne Ritchi from ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' remains fearless despite [[DesignatedVictim being kidnapped by a supervillain almost every day]]. |
| 228 | * Miriam from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''. Her optimism and her willingness to put herself on the line for what she believes in are pretty impressive considering she is a Jewish slave whose people have been under Egyptian oppression ''for 400 years''. |
| 229 | * Wendy's daughter Jane from ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverLand'' is this PlayedForDrama. She strives to be a Plucky Girl but has forgotten what it means to be a child, since she comes from the England of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII -- so she has all the practicality but none of the enthusiasm. By the end, she has recovered her spirits and has morphed into a straight example. |
| 230 | * Meilin Lee from ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' is optimistic about what she can do to make the world a better place and determined to do her part in realizing that goal. After the TraumaCongaLine she endures in the first act, you wouldn't be surprised if she broke down -- and in fact she does, for a while. But with the support of her friends she comes back strong. It quickly becomes clear that Mei always sees the best side of things, and she won't let ''anything'' stop her from achieving her goal-of-the-moment, whether it's getting top grades, entertaining the temple visitors, [[spoiler:getting home to hide her red panda form, getting to the 4*Town Concert, or even fighting her mother's towering kaiju-panda form]]. |
| 231 | [[/folder]] |
| 232 | |
| 233 | [[folder:Film — Live-Action]] |
| 234 | * Giselle from ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' is this trope ''to the letter''. When faced with the wildlife of New York City - gnats, pigeons, and cockroaches - she forces herself to smile and admit [[SincerityMode "Well, it's always nice to make new friends!"]] |
| 235 | * The girl Micha from a German film ''Film/StahlnetzPSI''. She is kidnapped for ransom [[spoiler:which her family cannot pay as it's not actuall rich]] and cannot escape on her own, but she still holds herself with dignity until the very end, (though she slowly begins to resign, but in her situation, it's hard not to; and she ''still'' doesn't break). |
| 236 | * ''Film/JamesBond'': |
| 237 | ** Kara Milovy from ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. She's left to be killed by [[spoiler:her own boyfriend]] as part of his Evil Plan and a lot of craziness happens in between, but damn it, she takes it upon herself to help foil said plan and take said craziness in stride. |
| 238 | ** Paloma from ''Film/NoTimeToDie''. Very friendly, very enthusiastic, very deadly. |
| 239 | * The title character of ''Film/TheJourneyOfNattyGann'' is bound and determined to find her father, and nothing is going to keep her from doing it, no matter how many people tell her that he abandoned her. She hops trains and hitchhikes from Chicago to Seattle, with little idea of exactly where her father is beyond "somewhere in Washington". |
| 240 | * Sarah (Creator/JenniferConnelly) in ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' won't give up her attempts to solve the Goblin King's seemingly-impossible maze and [[spoiler:retrieve her baby brother]]. |
| 241 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': Rey in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. She was abandoned at the age of five on Jakku and is forced to work as a scavenger, but honestly believes that her family will return for her. |
| 242 | * ''Film/TheThirdSaturdayInOctoberPartV'': The outgoing and good-natured PJ, who will dance with outcasts to cheer them up and toss kitchen knives to her babysitter to help take down a slasher. |
| 243 | [[/folder]] |
| 244 | |
| 245 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 246 | %%!!!'''By Author:''' |
| 247 | %%* Most of the [[SpiritedYoungLady spirited heroines]] in Creator/PGWodehouse's works; Joan from ''[[Literature/BlandingsCastle Something Fresh]]'', Eve from ''[[Literature/{{Psmith}} Leave it to Psmith]]'' and Jill from ''Jill the Reckless'' are all good examples. |
| 248 | %%!!!'''By Work:''' |
| 249 | %%* Charlotte from ''Literature/AlongTheWindingRoad''. |
| 250 | %%* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Loren. She's Rachel Lite. |
| 251 | * ''Literature/ArabianNights'': |
| 252 | ** Scheherezade, the protagonist from the FramingDevice, so much that [[ScheherezadeGambit she has a gambit named after her]]. She ''volunteers'' to marry King Shahryar (a madman who hates women and has ordered all his previous wives executed after the first one cheated on him) as part of a plan to cure his insanity - and she succeeds, becoming his Queen. |
| 253 | ** Some other characters in the individual stories qualify too, such as Morgiana, the GuileHero of ''Literature/AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves''. Morgiana being an AuthorAvatar for Scheherezade is lampshaded in at least one adaptation. |
| 254 | %%* Lale of ''Literature/TheAssassinsOfTamurin''. |
| 255 | * ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Lagdalen goes through lots of adventures and hardships in the series. She always remains optimistic and brave though, recovering from any setbacks. |
| 256 | * Illiana Henriksdotter in ''Literature/{{Betvingade}}'' has a tyrannical father and a cold-hearted mother, who never show her any love. But as soon as she gets married, she pretty much puts her abusive parents behind her. |
| 257 | * ''Literature/CagingSkies'': Elsa Korr, which even NaziProtagonist Johannes is frustrated at. |
| 258 | --> ''I'm not a kept woman!' I saw the old fire light up in her eyes. 'If a boat were sinking and a man and woman were both on it, what good would it do for the man to bail the water out by himself? The boat sank, they both drowned — how many lives would he have saved? Zilch. If they bailed the water out together and the boat remained afloat, how many lives will each one have saved? Two.'' |
| 259 | --> ''I shook my head at my old Elsa with her rhetorical arguments, which she pulled out of her hat at will. Sensing a breach in my defences she took her chance to change my mind. 'I have a talent, a craft, you know. You invested in it; you should get something out of it.' She waited for me to catch on but I didn't. 'My painting! If you let me, I can do one per day, at least, maybe even two. You just sell them at whatever price you choose, and use the money to keep the house going.'' |
| 260 | * The ''Literature/ChaletSchool'' is full of these, to the point where you wonder if it's a requirement to get into the school. Joey Bettany - who shares more than a few similarities with [[Literature/LittleWomen another Jo]] - is but one example. [[DelicateAndSickly Childhood illness]], running away from the Nazis, war, her husband Jack being temporarily MIA, the deaths of friends, a shedload of children...nothing will keep her down for long. And then there's Corney Flower, Biddy O'Ryan, Daisy Venables, Mary-Lou Trelawney, Carola Johnstone, Len Maynard...the list goes on. |
| 261 | %%* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' we have Polly Plummer, Lucy Pevensie, Jill Pole and Aravis Tarkheena. |
| 262 | * ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'': Sandry tends to come across as the sweet, optimistic one of the four, but she survived several days alone in a dark, concealed room, with only [[ItMakesSenseInContext a basket of embroidery thread for company]] while half the city died of plague around her, and when once again trapped in the dark (by an earthquake, no less) she is the one who figures out how to get herself and her friends out (though they all participate). |
| 263 | * ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' has Zenobia from ''Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon'', a [[BeautifulSlaveGirl harem girl]] that has no martial training whatsoever, but is brave and resourceful enough to save Conan when he is thrown into prison by the conspirators, arranging for his escape and showing no fear whatsoever. Her courage ends up making him fall for her. |
| 264 | * Gemma from ''Literature/DarkLife''. She's an orphan whose beloved older brother was [[DisproportionateRetribution sent to a reformatory]], escaped from her cruel headmistress, went subsea on her own despite not knowing how to swim, and is constantly delighted by [[BioluminescenceIsCool all the wonderful sea creatures she comes across.]] |
| 265 | %%* Lucy Pennykettle from ''Literature/TheLastDragonChronicles''. |
| 266 | %%* Rose Campbell from the ''Literature/EightCousins'' books. |
| 267 | * ''Literature/EnolaHolmes'' is the definition of this, eventually. It does take her running away from home with her brother, Franchise/SherlockHolmes, hunting her to force her into finishing school, and finding that she's a great detective herself at the age of 14. At the end, Sherlock and Mycroft are agape at how capable she is for her age. |
| 268 | * Angel in Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}''. It seals Freckles' LoveAtFirstSight. |
| 269 | -->''She did know. She was not in the least afraid. She was depending on a rattlesnake to live up to his share of the contract and rattle in time for her to move. The one characteristic an Irishman admires in a woman, above all others, is courage. Freckles worshiped anew.'' |
| 270 | %%* Sarah from ''Literature/GreystoneValley''. |
| 271 | * From ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Lily Potter ([[MamaBear standing between the Dark Lord and her baby without a second thought]]), Ginny Weasley (CuteWitch who does what she can to help Harry and Co.), [[InsufferableGenius Hermione Granger]] (member of the Golden Trio and MagicalGirlWarrior extraordinaire), and [[CloudCuckoolander Luna Lovegood]] - though it's hard to say with her what is indomitable pluck and what is sheer CloudCuckooLand training. |
| 272 | %%* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss Everdeen. |
| 273 | %%* ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'': |
| 274 | %%** Tessa Gray. |
| 275 | %%** Cecily Herondale. |
| 276 | * ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Imagine being stuck in the lair of an EvilSorcerer for months and then learning the AwfulTruth [[spoiler: that you are an ArtificialHuman with implanted memories]]; do you think would have both the courage to continuing trying to escape, ''and'' the presence of mind to act like a ProperLady? Vaya Kloac can, and does; she even rescues a captured mercenary in the process. |
| 277 | %%* Sarah Crewe from ''Literature/ALittlePrincess''. |
| 278 | %%* ''Literature/LittleWomen'': Josephine "Jo" March, as well as her older sister Meg, their younger sister Amy once she gets over her SpoiledBrat phase, and her pupil Annie aka Nan. |
| 279 | %%* Philippa Somerville in the ''Literature/LymondChronicles''. |
| 280 | * Maree Mallory of ''Literature/DeepSecret'' has "sheer if not-always-nice pluck" as one of her defining character traits. How much of a fighter is she? [[spoiler:At one point, ''she permanently loses half her soul''.]] Most people die within hours of this happening. Maree not only fights back, she ''walks miles'' to recover [[spoiler:in Babylon]]. To put things in perspective, the only other person to survive this that we know of? [[spoiler:A powerful and charismatic emperor who once conquered eleven different core universes and untold others.]] |
| 281 | * Creator/RoaldDahl's Literature/{{Matilda}} is ignored by her parents and terrorised by the awful Miss Trunchbull, and just 6-7 years old. So what's a little super-smart girl to do? Obviously, play some 'subduing' pranks on your boastful, corrupt father to take him down a peg, then develop your latent [[MindOverMatter psychokinetic powers]] to help that nice teacher who recognised your genius. |
| 282 | %%* Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson's ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy Millennium]]'' series occasionally teeters on the border between "Plucky Girl" and "SociopathicHero Girl". |
| 283 | %%* The title character of Hugh Howey's YoungAdult SpaceOpera ''Literature/MollyFyde'' series. |
| 284 | * The titular character of ''Literature/{{Momo|1973}}'' by Michael Ende. The bad guys actually take over the world (while she's asleep for AYearAndADay), but she never gives it up. She even dares giving one of the grey men a CareBearStare while she's completely on her own. |
| 285 | * ''Literature/NoryRyansSong'': The titular character. Though Nory frequently struggles to hold on to hope, she never loses it and doesn't give up in trying to provide for her family. |
| 286 | * Beatrice Löwenström in ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}'' by Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt is a tough girl, but it seems like the Universe itself is out to break her down. But once the worst is over, she gets over it and moves on. |
| 287 | * Christine Daae in ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' novel (which may be surprising to fans [[AdaptationDisplacement more familiar]] with the [[Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Broadway Musical]]) is an [[SpiritedYoungLady adventurous and vivacious heroine]] in Gaston Leroux’s novel, whose prim and proper lady-like behaviour is frequently offset by her wildness and boldness. Her {{love interest|s}} Raoul is left in awe and explicitly describes Christine as “plucky” upon learning how brave she has acted in spite of the looming threat of the phantom. Unfortunately the majority of adaptations have [[AdaptationalWimp completely]] [[{{Chickification}} excised]] Christine’s plucky girl qualities and dialed up TheIngenue [[{{Flanderization}} traits to the extreme]]. |
| 288 | %%* ''Literature/{{Pollyanna}}'', anyone? |
| 289 | * Ninevah "Nin" Redstone from ''Literature/SevenSorcerers'' by Caro King. Her Motto is "Have Courage and never give up!" She confronts a Bogeyman while armed only with a toothbrush and goes to insane lengths to rescue her brother, along with [[ChronicHeroSyndrome everybody else needing help]]. |
| 290 | * Lia in ''Literature/{{Skinned}}'' by Robin Wasserman. Despite getting in a car accident, having her [[BrainUploading brain put in an android]], her friends abandoning her, her sister sleeping with her boyfriend, and people believing she doesn't deserve to exist, she still keeps going. |
| 291 | * Sansa Stark from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', who manages to stay cool even when life seems more and more persistent to break her. Her sister Arya too, though this [[PlayedForHorror becomes less appealing and more creepy]] as the story goes on, though, as the goals Arya persists in achieving pretty much amount to mass murder. |
| 292 | * ''Literature/StephaniePlum'' from the books by Creator/JanetEvanovich. Faces down homicidal rapists and madmen with pluck, snark, and heavy coats of mascara. Interestingly enough, she's not entirely plucky - pretty much every time she's in direct danger, she's a terrified, blubbering wreck. She deserves the moniker because, even when she's out of her depth, terrified, and facing fates too horrible to consider, she doesn't give up. |
| 293 | * ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Shallan Davar gives off this vibe, always ready with a smile and a quip, persevering through sheer pluckiness. It soon becomes clear that [[HiddenDepths she's faking nearly all of this]] [[BrokenBird in order to keep herself functional]]. She goes as far as actively repressing memories, but when push comes to shove she turns into a stone cold pragmatist who is willing to do ''anything'' to survive. [[spoiler:She killed her mother in self-defense when she was eleven, and later poisoned her father to stop him from killing her brother. When that failed to kill him, she calmly strangled him while her brothers watched in horror.]] |
| 294 | %%* ''All'' of the important female characters in ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'', but especially Kahlan, Cara, and Nicci. |
| 295 | * In Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TillWeHaveFaces'', Istra, aka Psyche, is this. To the extent that she angers her older sister, Orual, for ''not'' being worried about being offered to a local god as a "[[MarriageToAGod bride]]", saying the god might actually be nice. [[spoiler:It turns out Istra is right, and everything works out in the end]]. |
| 296 | * In ''Literature/{{Tolivers Secret}}'', Ellen considers giving up on her journey to deliver her grandfather's message to his friend for the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanRevolution Revolutionary War]] and going back home a few times, especially after a disastrous chase at the beginning with two boys who stole it from her. She pulls through out of sheer determination to complete her grandfather's mission. |
| 297 | * ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': Daine is probably the most obvious example. Her house was burned by raiders, her family killed and she survived only by accident, she was almost raped/murdered by an ex-suitor of her mother's, and was RaisedByWolves — all before the book starts. She then proceeds to demonstrate a great deal of ass-kicking, particularly so in the later books; in the third one, after she is told that the Emperor killed [[spoiler:Numair]], she proceeds to [[spoiler:wake up an army of fossilized dinosaurs]] and rip the everloving shit out of the palace. She's not done. In the fourth book, after even more tragedy occurs, she kills [[spoiler:Ozorne]] with only a badger claw, naked, and entirely out of magic. Yeowch. |
| 298 | * Mavra Chang from Creator/JackChalker's ''Literature/WellWorld'' series absolutely refuses to give up despite all of the BodyHorror inflicted on her -- seemingly crippling mutations and [[PlayingWithSyringes body modifications]] only seem to make her even more determined. Hell, Mavra's probably at her most dangerous when she doesn't even have any hands. |
| 299 | * ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' features Dorothy, a resourceful, smart little girl who is willing to slap ''lions'' in the ''face'' and learns not to be afraid of the Wicked Witch of the West. |
| 300 | [[/folder]] |
| 301 | |
| 302 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 303 | %%* [[CoolBigSis Gail Emory]] of ''Series/AmericanGothic1995'', [[{{Chickification}} at least]] [[DamselInDistress in the first half of the series]]… |
| 304 | * Susan Grey from ''Series/TheBletchleyCircle'' is the driving force behind the investigation, the one who gets the band back together. |
| 305 | * Carmen Carrillo from ''Series/{{Carrusel}}''. She may not have the best family situation at first, but she always makes sure to study and do well in school, so that someday she can go to college and obtain a career. Plus she is always nice to everyone. She is very prim and proper- while always remaining determined, so her being ladylike and staying out of trouble may be a not so obvious way of remaining strong so that she can achieve her goals. |
| 306 | * Miki Momozono/Goggle Pink from ''Series/DaiSentaiGoggleFive''. She gets hit massively with a fatal bomb that nearly killed her, yet she still dragged her body to get up so her friends and KidSidekick won't worry about her. Then she gets trapped in a devil diary, is tied up and the diary gets burned from the outside (which would burn her eventually), and her friends can't get her out, only able to watch as she burns. Instead, she ''escapes from the book on her own using just her wits and brains'', delivers a condemning speech to those who trapped her (and dozens of innocent kids), then [[BadassInDistress proceeds to kick ass]]. |
| 307 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 308 | ** Vicki, the First Doctor companion. She was orphaned by a space accident, and we meet her after she's been stranded on an isolated desert planet awaiting a rescue mission while being psychologically terrorised by a repugnant monster with unclear motivations who turns out to be a man she thought was her friend in [[ScoobyDooHoax disguise]] — she'd still been making the best of it, by befriending the local wildlife. After the Doctor takes her on she will have occasional scenes where she will remind the others of what she's lost and that the Doctor is now her only family, but is mostly resolute and cheerful, happy to take the lead in a crisis (like in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E7TheSpaceMuseum "The Space Museum"]]), and with a big scoop of NightmareFetishist and FluffyTamer to boot. |
| 309 | ** Lampshaded in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]] when the Doctor introduces himself to the guests at a 1926 dinner party as a Scotland Yard detective and Donna as "The plucky young girl who helps me out." |
| 310 | --->'''Donna:''' "The plucky young girl who helps me out"?\ |
| 311 | '''The Doctor:''' No policewomen in 1926.\ |
| 312 | '''Donna:''' I'll pluck ''you'' in a minute! |
| 313 | ** Amy Pond and Clara Oswald generally fit this, though each in their own way: Amy's the more sanguine, cheeky go-getter, while Clara tends to be more introverted and shy whenever she's not wisecracking or fooling around. |
| 314 | * The titular character in ''Series/DongYi'' never gives up on, or breakdown over whatever she is doing, even when the odds are completely against her. |
| 315 | * ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Rachel starts out as a SpoiledBrat UpperClassTwit who when realizing she was about to enter a loveless marriage, runs away to find childhood friend Monica in hopes she could help. Rachel then through much determination goes from a menial job as a waitress to a successful career woman, along with also evolving into a more sensible and capable person. |
| 316 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 317 | ** Despite all the loss and suffering Arya Stark goes through, she just keeps on going. |
| 318 | ** When Stannis takes her along on his march to take Winterfell from the Boltons, Shireen declares she won't be afraid during the battle. |
| 319 | * Audrey Parker of ''Series/{{Haven}}'': A young FBI agent who is sent to the small town of Haven, Maine to capture a killer but stays to solve the terrifying "Troubles" that afflict the town and to find her long lost mother and learn to be a "small town cop." Being cocooned alive, almost driving off a cliff and dealing with super powered freaks of nature only makes her pissed and/or more determined. Also a very capable ActionGirl but could be considered a BrokenBird at times because of the emotional distance she keeps from people. |
| 320 | * ''Series/{{Monk}}'' has Natalie Teiger who brings bushels of optimism as a counterpoint to her employer's crabbiness. |
| 321 | * ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': Nico Saiba is determined enough [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave to stick around]] the resident TokenEvilTeammate and [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu flip off Cthulhu]] if she thinks the situation calls for it. One example is when she hit [[TheDreaded Kamen]] [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Rider Genm]] with a ''mop''. |
| 322 | * ''Series/LazyTown'': |
| 323 | ** Stephanie. The character is defined by her can-do attitude; she has a song called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKVNf6kuhv0 There Is Always a Way]]. |
| 324 | ** Sportacus is both a [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male example]] and a rare adult one. He's as cheerful and encouraging as Stephanie, despite the added pressure that come with being the town savior and dealing with the BigBad. |
| 325 | * ''Series/TheLawAccordingToLidiaPoet'': Lidia is never more than briefly deterred from her goals in spite of the institutionalized sexism she faces as it's Italy during the 1880s, her strong determination always taking her on even if she has to lie or manipulate for what she wants. |
| 326 | * ''Series/TheMakanaiCookingForTheMaikoHouse'': Kiyo, the teenage protagonist. In the second episode Sumire describes her as not particularly talented in school, but very determined to see things through. Indeed, in that same episode Kiyo spends the night hiking towards a shrine and back in order to solidify her position. |
| 327 | * ''Series/NewGirl"": The titular character relishes in her personality quirks and doesn't let the awkwardness of any situation hold her back. |
| 328 | * ''Series/NeverHaveIEver'': Aneesa can be described as plucky in relation to Dev who tends to fret more. |
| 329 | * ''Series/OnceUponATime'': |
| 330 | ** Princess Aurora, lampshaded when she is called this by her kidnapper, Cora, when Aurora flatly refuses to play along with her games. |
| 331 | ** Gretel/Ava is driven by her faith that she'll find her father again. In Storybrooke, she's managed to take care of herself and her younger twin brother while hiding the fact that their parents are missing, and in the Enchanted Forest, she even manages to stand up to [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Regina]] by telling her that family will always find each other. At the end of "True North," the two children are reunited with their father. |
| 332 | %%* Kelsey Winslow from ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue''. |
| 333 | * Djaq from ''Series/RobinHood'' originates from the Holy Land which is being torn apart by war in which she lost her father, mother and twin brother. She was then enslaved and brought to England in chains, all the while hiding her gender from her jailers. When she's rescued by Robin Hood, her fellow prisoners abandon her while she's helping out the outlaws. Yet she joins the gang, contributing her skills as a scientist and a medic to the country that is at war with her own, overcoming race and gender prejudices, and proceeding to kick ass all over the place whilst keeping her rather wicked sense of humor, resulting in one of the few times in which a character with obvious OP qualities manages to be imminently likeable. |
| 334 | * ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has Alexis Rose, who is cheerful, brave and optimistic no matter what the circumstances despite her lack of book smarts and losing her family's fortune. |
| 335 | * In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', as much as we love to see one of Chloe Sullivan's ''[[TraumaCongaLine many]]'' BreakTheCutie moments, she always pulls herself together to help Clark at the end of the day. [[spoiler:Season eight, "Abyss", "Bride" and "Legion", for instance. She has her memory slowly destroyed, making her gradually forgetting everything and everyone, attacked at her wedding, Jimmy almost dies, she is kidnapped by Doomsday to be possessed by Brainiac, and the Legion is about to kill her before Clark rushes in. [[AngstWhatAngst She is up and about almost unnaturally quickly after the ordeal.]]]] And that isn't even half of it. |
| 336 | * Allison Young in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', a resistance fighter captured by Skynet in the future who absolutely ''refuses'' to give in, even when pushed to the point of [[TheWoobie total emotional collapse]]. She tries to escape twice, [[ImNotHungry refuses to eat when the machines try to interrogate her]], and [[BatmanGambit spins a story designed to trick the Terminator that tries to mimic her into walking into a trap]]. [[spoiler:It doesn't work, and Cameron kills her for her troubles, but she gave it her best shot. And even when ''dying'', she stares her killer defiantly in the eye and refuses to yield an inch.]] |
| 337 | * Caroline Forbes from ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'', no matter how many times she's abused, tortured, neglected or loses someone she loves, she always holds her head high, smiles and is there for her friends. |
| 338 | * Veronica Mars of ''Series/VeronicaMars'', the unflappable young PI who is [[spoiler:roofied and date-raped, best friend is killed, family splits up,]] ostracized by her old friends, yet somehow trudges through and comes out mostly on top. And her relationships? [[spoiler:Suspected murderer of best friend, and also a man who could possibly be her biological brother (he's not).]] Well, let's just say she's incredibly determined. |
| 339 | * Cheryl in ''Series/WelcomeToFlatch'' isn't having a great time with the move but tries to put on as brave of a face as she can for the documentary crew. She also takes a lot of pride in her budding newspaper. |
| 340 | * Subverted by Gabrielle in ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess''. She starts off plucky, but in season 4, she joins the church of the One True God, throws in the towel, her staff and her joy. she becomes a determinator and never comes back. Lampshaded in an episode set in modern time. MadScientist raids Xena and Gabrielle's tomb and clones them. Gabrielle is plucky, MadScientist turns her into a determinator. Fan complains, MadScientist says you will only ever see plucky Gabrielle in the repeats of Seasons 1-3 - "Only in the re-runs." |
| 341 | [[/folder]] |
| 342 | |
| 343 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 344 | * Antigone from [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]], who refuses to abandon her father Oedipus even [[ChildSupplantsParent after learning]] [[ParentalIncest the truth]] [[{{Squick}} of her birth]]. She also defies her uncle Creon when he orders to not give burial to her brother's corpse, and prefers execution rather than renouncing to her beliefs. |
| 345 | * Many Christian martyrologies have tales about young and not-so-young girls who choose torture and death rather than renouncing to their beliefs and worshipping non-Christian Gods, and many of them are described as plucky to the extreme. For that matter, the Blessed Virgin Mary is this to Catholics, oh so very much. |
| 346 | [[/folder]] |
| 347 | |
| 348 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 349 | * ''Podcast/MysteryShow'' has {{Determinator}} AmateurSleuth Starlee Kine. |
| 350 | [[/folder]] |
| 351 | |
| 352 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 353 | * ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'': |
| 354 | ** Zia has gone through a higher quota of trauma than most, and is still fighting against a deep depression that she hides beneath her [[StepfordSnarker cheerful snark]], but she's determined not to let it overtake her, and has a flirty, friendly personality. |
| 355 | ** Destiny has had to put with a lot, being one of the few poor kids living in a rich town, but she hasn't let it get her down and maintains a positive attitude and a level head. |
| 356 | [[/folder]] |
| 357 | |
| 358 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 359 | * In ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl'', the former pig farmer turned Star Blitzer Karla von Kill has had to deal with low level sexism from Cablevision reporters, as well as major injuries caused by Minotaur that apothecaries said should have ended her career but has been determined to push onwards regardless. Karla’s attitude is was ably demonstrated during the 2492 Blood Bowl final where she attempted to stop the [[MightyGlacier Mighty Zug]] only to be knocked out for her trouble. Karla didn’t let this stop her however and, once she regained consciousness, immediately singled out Zug again and actually managed to knock down the famously solid Blocker, something that gained her a nod of respect from Zug himself. |
| 360 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Heroine}}'', one of the players plays the eponymous Heroine, who is defined by her pluckiness. Sure, she also has flaws she has to overcome in the course of the story, but as a rule of thumb, optimism and resourcefulness are a requirement in this role. |
| 361 | [[/folder]] |
| 362 | |
| 363 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 364 | * Swanhilde from ''Theatre/{{Coppelia}}''. She's unwilling to just take her boyfriend Franz's sudden abandonment to favor the titular Coppelia [[spoiler: and later desert him when it turns out that he's in danger of losing his own soul]]. So she will go into [[spoiler: Dr. Coppelius]]'s home to see what's going on with her "love rival" with her own eyes [[spoiler: and later protect Franz as much as she can once Coppelia's RobotGirl nature is revealed]]. |
| 365 | * Deconstructed in Creator/BertoltBrecht's ''Theatre/MotherCourageAndHerChildren''. The main female's pluckiness, perseverance and resourcefulness were supposed to show how ''dehumanized'' Mother Courage had become thanks to her sucky life (the deaths of her children included), as a detestable personification of the evils of capitalism. [[MisaimedFandom The audience embraced her instead.]] |
| 366 | * ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'': Juliet Capulet, believe it or not, and especially [[ValuesDissonance considering the time period it's set in.]] She disobeys her parents, follows her heart, takes the initiative ''even more than Romeo'' (to the point of them qualifying as MasculineGirlFeminineBoy in the era's standards), braves disownment and being trapped in a tomb to stay true to the man she loves (or at least [[InLoveWithLove believes she loves]] - give her a break, she ''is'' a teenager after all) and chooses to die with him rather than just bow to her elders. |
| 367 | * Molly Brown in ''Theatre/TheUnsinkableMollyBrown''. "I ain't down yet" is her catchphrase. |
| 368 | [[/folder]] |
| 369 | |
| 370 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 371 | * ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': |
| 372 | ** While a number of girls qualify for this in some shape or form, Makoto Nanaya clearly stands head and shoulders above the rest. If she can stand to rebuild a positive outlook on life in the wake of a lifetime of wall-to-wall FantasticRacism, you're going to need some heavy ordinance to break her down - physical injury, financial woes, mind games, [[spoiler:a trip through [[EldritchLocation the Boundary]],]] and [[ManipulativeBastard Yuuki Terumi's]] [[MindRape mental penis]] don't work. |
| 373 | ** To a much lesser but constantly increasing extent, Noel Vermillion. She began as a ShrinkingViolet with huge issues, but after the events of ''Continuum Shift'' and leading up to ''Chrono Phantasma'', she seems to have [[TookALevelInBadass taken a few levels in badass]] [[CharacterDevelopment and developed a more assertive but still kind personality]]. And as her best friend, Makoto helped her quite a bit. So yeah, try stopping her from [[spoiler: [[DeclarationOfProtection saving]] [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl her other best friend Tsubaki]] ]]. '''Try it'''. |
| 374 | * [[Characters/{{Castlevania}} Maria Renard]] from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'', doubled as a BadassInDistress. Right after being freed, you can control her all the way from where she's held captive to beat up Dracula all by herself and her pets (which is a case for most people anyway, since she's stronger and faster than Ricther.) |
| 375 | * ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'': |
| 376 | ** Sigrun is unusually cheerful for being a member of a group of {{Death Seeker}}s with the goal of achieving a HeroicSacrifice, joking that she'll try harder next time whenever she gets through a battle. During party banter with Nathaniel, she states that being {{Wangst}}y about it doesn't really help her much, and demonstrates that it would just get annoying really fast. |
| 377 | ** [[JeanneDArchetype Leliana]] in ''Origins'' lives through a tremendous amount of [[TraumaCongaLine nasty]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast stuff]], yet comes out of it stubborn, courageous, and possibly the sweetest girl you will ever meet. |
| 378 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': |
| 379 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': Princess Alena never lets anything get her down or stop her. Even though her kingdom has been destroyed and her father is missing, she is completely confident that she can find the culprit and punch it to death. |
| 380 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': It does not matter what happens to Bianca Whitaker (which includes [[spoiler:being kidnapped and turned to stone right after giving birth to her children, and spending eight years as a statue before being rescued]]), she never loses hope that the Hero can defeat Nimzo, and she does not hesitate in rejoining her husband to fight the very monsters who tried to destroy her life. |
| 381 | * ''VideoGame/FatalFury'', aside of all the girls who double as ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' {{Action Girl}}s, adds ladies like Tsugumi Sendou and Hotaru Futaba. In TheMovie, Kim's wife Myeungsuk also qualifies as such. |
| 382 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 383 | ** Krile from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. She's already an orphan when you meet her. Then [[spoiler:watches her grandfather die right in front of her. ''Then'' his spirit tells her she needs to take his place in defeating the warlock that just killed him]]. And she [[BadassAdorable does]], while still being cheerful enough to poke fun at the hero and pioneer the role that would appear in every numbered Final Fantasy after her. |
| 384 | ** Relm in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is a ten year old girl who talks smack to everyone and constantly gives her grandfather, Strago, grief. She's also a powerful magic user and she can sketch monsters in battle to use their abilities against them. Even after [[spoiler: Kefka wrecks the world]], Relm is still the same smart mouth optimist she always was and isn't totally fussed by [[spoiler: the world being destroyed]] when you see her again. |
| 385 | ** Aerith from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. She had a pretty terrible upbringing as a flower girl in the slums, but she still maintains a feisty and flirtatious personality (but also a kind heart too), and she never backs down from anyone. [[ActionGirl Pretty hands on]] for the WhiteMagicianGirl too. Unfortunately this independent streak of hers ends in disaster when she takes the responsibility of bringing down Sephiroth on herself, leaves the party and [[ItWasHisSled is murdered by the man she was trying to stop]]. [[spoiler:Given the final shot of the game before the credits roll though, ''that may have been her plan all along''.]] |
| 386 | ** Tifa from the same game is strong case of this too. Her mother died when she was little and she fell off a rickety bridge at MT Nible convinced her mom was at the summit. Cloud, her crush left Niblehiem [[ThePromise promising]] to become a legendary SOLDIER and come dashing to her rescue whenever she needed him, but she never saw him in the papers and he (seemingly) never returned. Then Sephiroth came to to inspect the town’s reactor, went nuts and burned everything down, killed her father and cut her down as well. Despite all this and losing her second home in Midgar a few years later, Tifa has remained [[ActionGirl strong]] as ever. She even provides moral support to Cloud and Barret without letting her own sadness show. |
| 387 | ** Selphie Tilmitt from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Her original home was destroyed, many of her friends were killed, the world was about to end, and she ''still'' maintained her plucky attitude and sense of humor. Worryingly, she's also always the first one to propose an excessively violent solution to a problem, such as skinning a [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Moomba]] to use as a disguise for escaping captivity. |
| 388 | --->''"Blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher! BOOOOOM!"'' |
| 389 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' gives us both female and male examples: |
| 390 | ** Linde from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem''. Alongside Maria, post-HeelFaceTurn!Minerva, Yumina, Lena, Elice, Tiki, Feena, etc. ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Gaiden]]'' adds Celica, Sonya, etc. Merric and Rickard are [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male examples]]. |
| 391 | ** From ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', we have several either in the WhiteMage or the ActionGirl fields. |
| 392 | *** The first generation: Adean, Briggid, Tailto [[spoiler:until she's ''horribly'' broken]], Ferry, Mahnya, Raquesis, Sylvia and Ayra. Dew is TheOneGuy, sorta. |
| 393 | *** The second generation: Lana (and Mana), Patty (and Daisy), Fee (and Femina), Nanna (and Janne), Altena, Larcei (and Radney), Leen (and Laylea). On the enemy side, we have the AntiVillain Ishtar. On the rare male example side, there's Corple (and Sharlow) and ''specially'' Seliph. |
| 394 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'': The aforementioned Nanna alongside Mareeta, Tanya, Karin, post-HeelFaceTurn!Olwen, Sara, Safy, Lara, Tina, Eda, Linoan, Misha and Princess Miranda, with Evayle [[spoiler:or better said, an amnesiac Briggid]], Machyua, Selphina and post-HeelFaceTurn!Amalda as older versions. TheHero Leif and Asvel are rare male examples. |
| 395 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'': |
| 396 | *** Nino the Mage/Sage. Oh poor little innocent, sweet, freaking ''determined'' Nino. |
| 397 | *** Lyndis/Lyn, Louise, Priscilla, Serra, Farina, Fiora and Rebecca, too. A good part of Florina's CharacterDevelopment comes from her doing what she can to become one. If you want rare male examples, look no further than Sain, Guy and Wil. |
| 398 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' (set 20 years after ''The Blazing Blade'') Princess Lilina is this and some more. Makes sense since her dad is Lord Hector [[spoiler:and her mom can either be Lyn, Farina or Florina]]. Other than her, we have: Clarine, Ellen, Princess Guinevere, Thany, Thite, Lalum, Sue, Milady and Fir. Adult versions include: Echidna, Igrene, Cecilia and Niime. "Mayfly" versions include [[spoiler:the dragon Fa]] [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male examples]] include Lugh, [[spoiler: one of Nino's sons]] and TheHero Roy [[spoiler: whose mom can be either Fiora or Lyn]]. |
| 399 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'': |
| 400 | *** Princess Tana. So plucky that she refuses to stay on the sidelines even when her brother Innes demands her to do so, helps both Eirika and Ephraim as much as she can [[SkilledButNaive despite her limited battle experience]], can convince the very distraught Cormag to defect ''with words alone'' [[spoiler:and hook up with him if they have an A support]], and pulls Ephraim out of his HeroicBSOD after [[spoiler:he sees that he can't bring Lyon back and loses one of the stones to him]]. |
| 401 | *** Eirika, too. Despite her naivete and seeing her kingdom and others go down, she keeps going on. |
| 402 | *** And L'Arachel, too. So plucky that she can bring Eirika out of an HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:when she has to assume that Lyon's too far gone to be truly saved, after his SuperpoweredEvilSide uses him to steal the MacGuffin from her]]. |
| 403 | *** Also Natasha and Amelia. Both young ladies come from Grado, an Empire that is starting to invade and threaten other countries, but they decide to fight back and join Eirika and/or Ephraim's groups so they can save the world and Grado itself. |
| 404 | *** The rare male examples? Ewan and Ross; both begin as quite weak fighters but evolve into much stronger ones without losing their cheerful dispositions. |
| 405 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'': Mist, most prominently. Also to some extent Mia, Jill, Lucia, Elincia after her CharacterDevelopment, Sanaki, Laura, Micaiah, Heather, Eda and others. The rare male examples are Rhys, Oscar, Rolf, Boyd, Geoffrey and ''specially'' [[{{Keet}} Kieran.]] |
| 406 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': |
| 407 | *** A female Avatar (default name: Robin), Sully, Lissa, Maribelle, Nowi, Tharja ([[{{Yandere}} in a... strange way]], that is), Cordelia, Sumia (who's normally more of a submissive badass), Emmeryn (specially when she [[spoiler: fearlessly goes through an HeroicSuicide to stop an upcoming war]], [[spoiler: Say'ri]] and [[spoiler: the grown-up Tiki]]. [[spoiler: And maybe [[TheLostlenore Ke]]'[[PosthumousCharacter ri]], if Lon'qu's testimony is to be believed]].) Also the male Avatar, Prince Chrom, Stahl, Vaike, Henry, Donnel and Ricken as rare male examples. |
| 408 | *** From the second generation there's [[spoiler: Sully]]'s daughter Kjelle, [[spoiler: Sumia]]'s daughter Cynthia, [[spoiler: Cordelia]]'s daughter Severa, [[spoiler: Nowi]]'s daughter Nah, [[spoiler: Tharja]]'s daughter Noire ([[BewareTheQuietOnes in her]] [[SplitPersonality own]] [[SuddenlyShouting way]]) and [[spoiler: Chrom's daughter Lucina]]. And there are some [[GenderInvertedTrope rare male examples]] like [[spoiler: Olivia]]'s son Inigo and [[spoiler: Lissa]]'s son Owain. Oh, and Morgan counts in here whether as a boy or a girl [[spoiler: unless they get corrupted by Grima after the death of his Avatar mom/dad]]. |
| 409 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' continues the tradition with the Female Avatar (default name: Kamui or Corrin), Azura, Hinoka, Elise, Camilla, Mozu, Oboro, Selena [[spoiler: aka an OlderAndWiser version of the aforementioned Severa]], Felicia, Peri ([[CuteAndPsycho in a rather terrifying way]]), Effie, Hana, Reina, Kagero, Anna, Sophie, Ophelia and Soleil. The rare male examples include the Male Avatar, Silas, Leo, Arthur, Odin [[spoiler: aka an OlderAndWiser Owain]], Laslow [[spoiler: aka an OlderAndWiser Inigo]], Azama, Hinata, Siegbert, Asugi, Percy, Kiragi, Shiro and Forrest. And Kana counts whether as a boy or a girl too. |
| 410 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEchoesShadowsOfValentia'' fleshes out its once rather flat cast, and as a result many of the girls become this. The biggest examples are the female lead Celica and the cleric Silque, and they're joined soon by Faye, Clair, Mathilda, the Whitewing Sisters (Palla, Catria and Est), Mae, Tatiana, Sonya, Emma, Shade and Yuzu. There are also male examples: the male lead Alm, Gray, Tobin, Lukas, Clive, Forsyth, Atlas, [[spoiler:Celica's half-brother]] Conrad, Jesse, Valbar and ''especially'' Leon. |
| 411 | * ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': Lynne gets killed [[TheyKilledKennyAgain no less than five times in one night]], but she'll be damned before that will keep her from laughing it all off with her [[ThemeMusicPowerup cheerful theme tune]] every time Sissel has to go back in time to undo her deaths. And then there is the bravery she displays when she [[spoiler:gets trapped in a sinking submarine with Kamila]]. [[TheCutie Kamila]] couldn't wish for a finer [[CoolBigSis protective older sister surrogate]] even if she wanted to try. |
| 412 | * The main trait of Kat the heroine of ''VideoGame/GravityRush'', constantly upbeat and cheerful and [[TheCape actively enjoys being a hero]]. It’s revealed Kat’s former self was once weak and vulnerable but after falling to Hekseville and becoming a hero she is anything but weak. |
| 413 | * The title character of the freeware action/adventure ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' is a teenage girl who wakes up six months after an alien attack kills her family to discover that scientists have implanted nanotech in her to combat the invaders, but her only support is her little brother Dan, who has grown bloodthirsty, cynical and emotionally distant. Even after [[spoiler:she discovers that humanity is on the brink of extinction and the earth is a charred husk, she presses on with the mission Dan gives her. This first quest fails miserably, the second makes the situation even worse, and, depending on the player's actions, Iji fails to save her brother from an assassin, which [[HeroicBSOD traumatizes her horribly]]]]. And yet she still carries on. The player can choose to play her as an ActionGirl or pacifist; regardless, the final boss is awed by her determination. |
| 414 | * Kairi from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. She was prepared to take on ''[[TheBerserker Saix]]'' '''''unarmed''''' at one point, and [[PlayingWithFire Axel]] commented on her guts. |
| 415 | * ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'': The KOF: KYO manga/game has Kyo's girlfriend Yuki, specially when she stands up to [[spoiler: Iori]] in the middle of a GoThroughMe. Not halfway bad for a BarrierMaiden GirlNextDoor. |
| 416 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': |
| 417 | ** Zelda in many of her incarnations is a courageous Plucky Girl, particularly her ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' versions. Even the extremely insecure ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' Zelda shows a playful side [[spoiler: and by the ending TookALevelInBadass by holding back Calamity Ganon]]. |
| 418 | ** Malon/Marin in both ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link’s Awakening]]'' and ''Ocarina of Time'' displays these qualities. The OOT version in particular remains strong despite her ranch getting taken over by Ingo and her father Talon ousted out, only fearing over Ingo hurting the horses not her own safety. Malon’s AlternateUniverse counterparts Cremia and Romani from [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora’s Mask]] are of the same mold, with Cremia putting up a brave face [[spoiler: despite knowing the moon is gonna crash into Termia and kill everyone]]. |
| 419 | * From ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'' we get Cate Archer, superspy extraordinaire. Almost the entirety of UNITY believes a woman can't be a proper spy, her mentor is killed, every single agent has died before her, she's continually put on missions often promised to be simple but always end up extremely dangerous, and she's being [[spoiler: sabotaged]]. Of course this doesn't stop her. She gets bonus points for having been a very successful cat burglar, starting out when she was just a teenager. |
| 420 | * ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'': |
| 421 | ** The female protagonist route added to ''VideoGame/Persona3'' in the PSP version turns the player character into one. The darker the game's plot gets, the more determinedly upbeat her dialogue options become. |
| 422 | ** All of the ''VideoGame/Persona4'' girls show different shades of this after their Shadows are dealt with. Special mention goes to [[MissionControl Rise Kujikawa]], who [[spoiler:took control of her Persona, Himiko, ''right after the Shadow Rise fight'']]. |
| 423 | ** And beating them all out is Maya Amano from ''VideoGame/Persona2'', whose catchphrase is "Let's think positive!" She remains upbeat throughout ''Innocent Sin'', serving as a TeamMom for the group. Her pluckiness remains palpable even after she becomes a HeroicMime when promoted to Protagonist in ''Eternal Punishment''. |
| 424 | * Atari from ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoQuest''; no matter how many lemons are thrown at her, be it in the form of her boss' rather unreasonable expectations, her "clients'" odd requests or even just her own incompetence, she always keeps a smile on her face, remaining enthusiastic and ready for action. |
| 425 | * Recette from the game ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'' fits this trope to a T. She's a young, naive, and overwhelmingly optimistic girl who, despite her desperate circumstances, is determined to make the best of them and is nice to most everyone (even people who previously tried to kill her!) She starts off the game in danger of being evicted from the only home she's ever known because her father irresponsibly ran off on an adventure and left behind a huge debt that she must now repay. In spite of this, Recette manages to keep a smile on her face and pay back her father's debts. She may act rather dumb at times and obsess over sweets, but ultimately Recette's [[MagneticHero infectious optimism and kindness]] is what wins her both customers ''and'' friends. Even the [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou player cannot help but be endeared to her!]] |
| 426 | %%* The sisters Nakoruru and Rimururu from ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'', as well as Cham-Cham and Charlotte Marie Colde. |
| 427 | * ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': |
| 428 | ** Jill Valentine has shades of this. [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil She’s lost most of her colleagues]] to a MadScientist’s deathtrap mansion, [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis had her the city she swore to protect get infested with zombies and then nuked]] and [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 then was captured, shoved in a tube and turned into a]] BrainwashedAndCrazy SuperSoldier. Yet even after all that Jill is still willful as ever and just tells Chris to hurry up and save the world immediately after he brings her back to normal. Oh and last we hear from her? She’s stuck in hospital naturally recovering but still wants to get back in the field as soon as possible. |
| 429 | ** This is a central trait of Claire Redfield as well. A upbeat biking tomboy turned activist and welfare worker, Claire has [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 gone through]] the ZombieApocalypse, lost both her dearest allies Sherry and Leon to TheGovernment, had her {{love interest|s}} [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Steve die in her arms]] and then [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2 the human-rights agency she works for turned out to be evil]]. But Claire like her older brother Chris hasn’t lost any of her righteousness and is the optimistic one of the Redfield siblings. |
| 430 | ** Sherry displays such qualities throughout ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 RE6]]'' despite being an orphan confronted with near literal hell on earth. Her legal guardian [[BigBad Derek Simmons]] even comments on Sherry’s constant compassion and optimism in a file... personally finding it absolutely [[EvilCannotComprehendGood intolerable and disgusting]]. |
| 431 | * Quite a lot of the female characters from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries''. Nearly every female character who has ever appeared in a ''Soul'' game is either this trope, or an IceQueen. Cassandra, Xianghua and Talim are this big time, Sophitia and Seung Mina were this in their earliest incarnations but grew out of it to eventually become [[ActionMom other]] [[CoolBigSis tropes]], and in the most recent game ''Soul Calibur V'', Pyrrha (specially when she manages to pull herself together after ''years'' of BreakTheCutie), Yan Leixia (who runs away to both refuse an ArrangedMarriage and to seek for adventure) and Natsu (Taki's pupil and one of Leixia's travel partners). |
| 432 | * ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': |
| 433 | ** Chun-Li. Oh my, Chun-Li. The first ActionGirl in fighting game history simply can't be less. Followed by Cammy White, "Rainbow" Mika Nanakawa, Sakura Kasugano, Karin Kanzuki, Elena, Ibuki, Maki Genryusai, Makoto, Rose, Ingrid... |
| 434 | ** In regards to non-fighting female charas, Yun's HotBlooded "non-girlfriend" Hoimei is this; considering how calm she is when around her, her little sister Shaomei might count too. Eliza Masters can be considered to be an OlderAndWiser version: she's not seen a lot but when she does appear she's almost always smiling and patient, and the mere fact that she's HappilyMarried to [[LovedINotHonorMore a dude who's very often fighting out there]] implies that she's got quite the patience. |
| 435 | * While most Toads from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' are portrayed as {{Lovable Coward}}s, Toadette is portrayed as, well, brave and optimistic. Even in ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker'', the initial reason why she was captured by Wingo was that she wouldn't let go of the power star she and the Captain found. Even then, [[DamselOutOfDistress this is only temporary]]. |
| 436 | * In ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' we have Charis. The little girl around seven or eight years of age right smack in the middle of a war, has to abandon her home, and witness destruction, atrocities, and quite a number of monsters. And she never gives up and never stops being cheerful. At Eburon Hamil is about to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge charge suicidally into the Imperial ranks]] for a [[TakingYouWithMe chance to take]] [[YouKilledMyFather Izebel]] [[TakingYouWithMe with him]], before Tart points out to him Charis is going to follow him on his suicide charge, all cheerful and smiles. He stops himself to not get her killed. |
| 437 | * Clementine from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale'' starts off as one, as scared of her situation as a child would be but maintaining a mostly optimistic attitude. On top of just coloring pictures, she contributes to the group every now and then, finding the boat in the shed and possibly putting in her two cents on whether they should let Ben stay or not. Overall, she does fairly well for a child in the apocalypse. As things become more and more dire, however, her optimism runs out to the point until [[BreakTheCutie she's effectively jaded]]. |
| 438 | [[/folder]] |
| 439 | |
| 440 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 441 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'''s strongest example of this is Maya Fey -- not only is she framed for murder multiple times, but she often watches her family members be murdered (notably her [[spoiler: mother and sister)]] and frame each other for murder (and two of the times she's framed, it's [[spoiler: ''by her own family''.)]] Despite everything, she does her damnedest to keep a smile on her face and crack a joke when she can. After all's said and done in the final case of the third game, after Maya has been through absolute physical and emotional hell, Franziska just marvels at Maya's optimism and wonders aloud how she manages to stay so strong. She's followed by Trucy Wright in ''[[VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney Apollo Justice]]'' and Athena Cykes in ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]''. |
| 442 | * ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' has several examples: |
| 443 | ** The first game has Aoi Asahina, a sweethearted fitness nut who does her damnedest to keep everyone's chins up during the killing game. [[spoiler: She breaks twice- first when she thinks Sakura killed herself because of the others, and second when Junko reveals the outside world is post-apocalyptic]], but manages to bounce back with some help. |
| 444 | ** The second game has several: Akane Owari (the upbeat and competitive Ultimate Gymnast), Sonia Nevermind (PrincessClassic and the group's SupportingLeader), and Ibuki Mioda (a cheerful CloudCuckoolander rock musician). |
| 445 | * In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', Lily never abandons her positive attitude, and she’s braver than some others give her credit for. |
| 446 | * Yui, the heroine of ''VisualNovel/DiabolikLovers'', has a reputation for being an ExtremeDoormat. In the visual novels she is more precisely an extreme LoveMartyr, because when it comes to her love interest she is incredibly persistent. No matter how cruel he is or how much he tries to scare her off, Yui ''will'' discover his emotional weak points or find him in a distressing situation and do everything she can to help him. Each and every one of them is eventually cowed by her willingness to TurnTheOtherCheek. |
| 447 | * Sakura from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', who lives with an abusive family but still manages to by sweet and cheerful. [[spoiler: Until she snaps in the third route.]] |
| 448 | * ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'': |
| 449 | ** Nothing gets Hiyoko Tousaka down for long. Not even [[spoiler: being unintentionally killed by her best friend/love interest and then cut up into pieces by a mad doctor]] keeps her from taking an active role in the plot and helping Ryouta when he needs it the most. |
| 450 | ** [[GenderInvertedTrope Rare male example]] in [[TheAtoner Sakazaki]] [[BigBrotherInstinct Yuuya]], who accepted his guilt [[spoiler: in [[OffingTheOffspring Killing his half-brother to let his full brother Sakuya live]] and refuses to let himself be get down by anything from Sakuya hating him to being [[TakingTheBullet stabbed by a poisoned cleaver]] to being guilt-tripped by [[EldritchAbomination The King]] using [[HellIsThatNoise the sound of breaking eggs]]]]. |
| 451 | * The main character of ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku'' has her entire life upended when she abruptly gets sent back in time to Japan's Sengoku period and has to survive in a time where wars and deaths are commonplace for at least three months before she can return home. Despite getting frightened or horrified at various points by how much more dangerous the Sengoku period is compared to her more peaceful modern day time, her resolve to survive it and be productive in her new job as chatelaine of Azuchi Castle instead of just sitting around and waiting never falters and she can even [[FirstPersonSmartass snark]] about the more absurd aspects of her new life. |
| 452 | * Emi Ibarazaki from ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', a young woman who lost her legs [[spoiler:and her father]] in an horrifying accident, but around a year later she had already relearned to walk, and is the star of Yamaku High's track team. [[spoiler:Once the player pursues her route, though, it's a DeconstructedTrope. Emi knows that loss of a relationship is normal, and it is best to be strong and move on. However, at the same time, the same stubbornness that enables her to deal with her issues prevents Emi from growing close to anyone because she is afraid that the pain of loss will prevent her from moving onto the future. This prevents anyone from helping her when she ''does'' need it, so Hisao must be VERY patient and persistent with her.]] |
| 453 | * [[Creator/AgathaChristie Mary Clarissa Christie]], the main character from ''VisualNovel/ShikkokuNoSharnoth''. The minigame is even based off of it: If her mental state falls too far, you lose. |
| 454 | * ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'': |
| 455 | ** Kaoru shows little fear in the presence of spirits, and is determined to do anything to hunt down and save Ami from Kakuya. Even if the scare is put in her, she'll eventually bounce back and keep on moving. |
| 456 | ** Ami's kindness and optimism allow her to get along with pretty much everyone she meets, and she has a noted stubborn streak that's enough to get Akira, who otherwise doesn't like bothersome things, to play along with her. |
| 457 | [[/folder]] |
| 458 | |
| 459 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 460 | * Credenza, TheProtagonist of ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}''. While years as a slave on a pirate ship have left their mark, she's relentlessly helpful to everyone, the stubborn optimist between her SourSupporter Raven's whining and team worrier Tuff's fretting, and saving the world despite all odds, because it's the right thing to do. As her friend Blitz says (regarding the BigBad): |
| 461 | -->'''Blitz''': You're gonna faith him to death! |
| 462 | * Grace from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has strong shades of this, being willing to talk her half-immortal teacher into hunting a magically-enlarged giant boar... because she wants to save the boar. |
| 463 | * Feferi Peixes, of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', is one. She'd almost be a PrincessClassic, if not for her easily riled temper and lack of subtlety. |
| 464 | * The main character of ''Webcomic/InvinceaAndTheWarriorsFromHell'' keeps a chipper attitude in spite of all her suffering. She has a very optimistic view of the world, and pursues every adventure like it’s her first. |
| 465 | * Milny from ''Webcomic/PlanescapeSurvivalGuide''. [[spoiler:Even being briefly dead cannot undo her optimism.]] |
| 466 | * The blind Idony and the carefree Chara from ''Webcomic/TheSilverEye''. |
| 467 | * ''Webcomic/{{Xenospora}}'' gives us an alien woman named Strike, who endures [[ATasteOfTheLash a whipping]] for her beliefs. |
| 468 | [[/folder]] |
| 469 | |
| 470 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 471 | * Rebecca Stone from ''WebVideo/DemoReel''. She's had a difficult life, with misogyny in the industry, AbusiveParents and a sexually abusive uncle, but she's an optimistic NiceGirl all the same. Plus can beat the crap out of anything that hurts Tacoma or Donnie. |
| 472 | * From ''TabletopGame/NewVindicators'', there's Kirstie Arnett, also known as Parabola. While her Neo-Sapien powers can be useful, and she's not entirely helpless in a hand to hand fight, she's not quite an ActionGirl and relies more on strength of character. |
| 473 | %%* Caroline from the ''Literature/ReconstructionSeries'' is a slightly older example at 24, but still fits this to a T. |
| 474 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Ruby has an [[WideEyedIdealist enduring optimism]] that she can make the world a better place for everyone. She was raised on children stories about great heroes protecting and inspiring people and is determined to become a Huntress to help people survive the [[CrapsackWorld world of monsters]] in which they live. When Blake tries to tell her she's [[NaiveEverygirl fantasising like a child]] and the real world isn't so kind, Ruby simply tells her that the reason people like them exist is to make the real world a nicer place. When she regrets dragging her friends on a dangerous quest across the continent of Anima, Jaune tells her that she didn't drag anyone -- her optimism and determination gave them the courage to follow her. When Ruby cheers up the [[LegacyCharacter terrified Oscar]] with advice on how she copes with the terrible things the world has been throwing at her, Oscar and [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] discuss her unique ability to [[TheParagon lift and inspire others]] with her constant optimism and determination. Her optimism drives a bitter [[TheSociopath Roman]] to [[VillainousBreakdown rage]] about her detachment from a world in which the realists only [[KnowWhenToFoldEm concentrate on survival]]. There are strong hints that [[BigBad Salem]] sees Ruby as the key to winning her [[SecretWar ancient war]] with the equally optimistic Ozpin: by [[HopeCrusher breaking Ruby's optimism]], she can break Ozpin and [[DespairGambit defeat him]] by destroying the world he protects right in front of his eyes. |
| 475 | [[/folder]] |
| 476 | |
| 477 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 478 | * Tinker Bell is portrayed as this in the Franchise/DisneyFairies franchise. In her [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan original film]] she was more of a {{Yandere}}, though she still showed traces of this when [[spoiler: she fearlessly took a bomb away from Peter and almost sacrificed herself to help him]]. |
| 479 | * Toot from ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' became a mix of this and JerkassWoobie after going through CharacterDevelopment. |
| 480 | %%* Loopy from the ''Life with Loopy'' segments on ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'' |
| 481 | * [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAsamiSato Asami Sato]] from ATLA sequel ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', who has remained strong, kind, and supportive despite multiple betrayals and disappointments and a lot of loss. |
| 482 | * WesternAnimation/{{Lilo|AndStitch}} [[Franchise/LiloAndStitch Pelekai]] in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. This little Hawaiian girl is not afraid of dealing with destructive, mischievous aliens on a regular basis as she helps them use their abilities for constructive purposes. |
| 483 | * Julie Kane in ''{{WesternAnimation/Motorcity}}''. The [[TheSmurfettePrinciple token female]] ActionGirl of the Burners, who actually believes there might be still some good in [[BigBad her father]]. |
| 484 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] is a feisty girl who is confident in herself and refuses to give up, in particular undertaking the challenge of learning magic despite Humans having no natural ability to use magic. Her drive, passion and determination ultimately result in Luz discovering an entire branch of lost WildMagic that is nearly exclusive to her and allows her to cast spells like Witches and Demons without the need for a Bile Sac. |
| 485 | * In ''WesternAnimation/PrincessSissi'', the plucky [[CountryMouse farm girl]] who deals with danger and tribulation after tribulation to get married to her sweetheart, Prince Franz, all the while believing that she can bring peace to Austria and Hungary and [[ChronicHeroSyndrome helping who she can on the way.]] |
| 486 | * Ensign D'Vana Tendi of ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks''. From the first episode, she's very enthusiastic about her posting, and deterred by very little, even when others might find her enthusiasm a bit grating at times. Despite primarily being in the medical division, she's shown to be more than capable of handling herself in a fight, as she was able to take out numerous armed Romulan guards single-handedly by herself, and could be ''uncomfortably dominant'' with males of her own race. |
| 487 | * [[Characters/StarWarsAhsokaTano Ahsoka Tano]] from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' begins as a headstrong, impulsive Padawan learner, and [[BreakTheCutie while the realities of the war and being betrayed by the Jedi council temper her somewhat,]] she never loses her fundamental bravery and optimism. |
| 488 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': |
| 489 | ** {{Gender Inverted|Trope}} with the eponymous [[Characters/StevenUniverseStevenQuartzUniverse Steven Quartz Universe]]. Both a [[ChildSoldiers young warrior]] and the only human/gem hybrid, he manages to be a [[TheHeart sweet]] and [[CheerfulChild cheerful]] boy regardless. |
| 490 | ** While [[Characters/StevenUniverseConnieMaheswaran Connie Maheswaran]] starts out as shy and friendless, things gradually change when she meets Steven, and she still manages to become bold and a bit more cunning while still trying to be a NiceGirl. By the second season, she learns how to handle a sword, go on adventures with the Gems, and stand up for Steven because he helps her to make friends, and she cares so much for him and their inseparable bond of friendship that she wants to be a part of his universe. |
| 491 | * Princess Ilana in ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan''. She's fairly cheerful, something of a GranolaGirl, and passionate about school-related activities. Although she is shown to worry about the state of the people on her planet. |
| 492 | * Miko from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', who is ever eager to get herself into the action. |
| 493 | [[/folder]] |
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